Legend of the Blind Ninja
by Lucy Heart of Fairy Tail
Summary: His sight was stolen at such a young age, but that doesn't stop him from doing anything. Losing his sight awakens his true potential that no one thought was possible. Beware the blind ninja!
1. Loss of Sight

I found this story in one of my old folders, I had so many spelling errors that it wasn't even funny but don't worry I edited the story and added some chapters to it. Leave a review ^_^

* * *

Hiruzen let out a shaking breath before the doctor, "Could you please repeat that?"

Dr. Ishida gave him a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but I'm afraid that Naruto-kun's lost his ability to see."

The Sandaime clenched his fists trying to contain his rage at the person responsible for the boy's blindness. The matron at the orphanage had gone too far! She poured some chemicals into his eyes and the other staff had held her down and one of them brought Naruto to the hospital late at night to inform Ishida-sensei of what happened. The man had taken Naruto from the staff member of the orphanage and taken him to get his eyes taken care of. As for the woman she was executed without mercy and the other staff members didn't shed any tears or stuck up for her actions because they accepted the boy for who he was instead of abusing him, hell they even protected him from her when October 10th arrived making the boy 5 years old this year. And now, the boy has lost his ability to see and it was probably permanent.

"Is it…"

"Permanent? I'm afraid so yes." Ishida was barely able to contain his own rage. The boy was always coming here because of injuries given to him by the worthless villagers in his opinion. He had grown very fond of the boy as did the nurses because they didn't see a monster they saw an innocent child that was being abused by human ignorance.

Before they could continue the conversation the door opened and in came the very same boy they were talking about. Naruto Uzumaki who had bandages covering his eyes, "Ishida-sensei, Hokage-jiji."

Both men blinked. How in the world did he get here? They were on the other side of the hospital, did he walk here all by himself or did he have help?

"Naruto, how did you get here?" Hiruzen asked moving towards the boy bending down before him.

"I don't know," Naruto answered softly, "I just felt that you were here with Ishida-sensei."

The men looked at each other and Ishida walked over to Naruto himself, "Why don't you sit over there in the chair so I can examine your eyes okay?"

"Okay." Naruto said.

Hiruzen looked over at the doctor in confusion but the man simply mouthed a 'trust me' and let the boy walk over towards the chair on his own. Naruto walked around Sarutobi and towards the chair much to their surprise and sat down almost as if he could see where he was going. Ishida unwrapped the bandages from his eyes and saw the boy open his eyes and they were sky blue but if you look closely you can see that he was still blind.

Ishida decided to ask the boy very carefully, "Naruto-kun-"

"I'm going to stay blind aren't I?" Naruto cut him off.

Their eyes widened at the question taken completely by surprise again. How did he?

"Naruto, who told you that you were blind?" Sarutobi asked carefully.

"They did." Naruto blinked.

Ishida and Sarutobi looked at each other then back at the boy, "They? They who?" could it have been the nurses?

Naruto shook his head and got up from the seat and towards the window almost as though he knew where it was, lifting his hand towards the window slowly he clicked it and opened it slowly before turning towards them, "The trees…they told me."

Before they could say anything they noticed one of the trees started moving taking them by surprise and were about to move over to the boy when a tree branch came through the window and towards Naruto but the boy was completely still not at all afraid of the moving branch. It inched towards his cheek making him smile and rub it with affection, "I'm okay…I think." In response to his sadness the branch sprouted a yellow flower for him making Naruto smile and take the flower from the branch, "Thank you." The tree branch retracted from the window leaving the two men completely baffled at what they had just witnessed.

Naruto turned to them still holding the flower in his hand, "What's wrong?" he could feel their shock.

"N-Naruto-kun, just now that was…" Ishida-sensei stuttered.

"Hm? You mean the tree? They've been doing that everytime I go into the forest to be alone. Sometime I feel them following me when I walk around too, it feels nice." Naruto smiled a little still sad that he could no longer see.

"What do you mean?" Sarutobi asked gently wondering if what he was thinking could be possibly true.

"Um, I don't know but I think its because I can do this," Naruto lifted his hand and out sprouted a pink flower, "I don't know, but I can do this and-what's wrong?" he heard a THUD telling him that both men probably fell down.

Sarutobi couldn't believe what he was seeing. How is this possible? Naruto has a kekkei genkai, and not just any kekkei genkai, the famous Mokuton (Wood Release) that belonged to the Shodaime Hokage. Hashirama Senju! Wait! Now that he thought about it, it was possible actually seeing as how the Uzumaki's and Senju's are blood related by marriage it's possible that at some point one of them either the Senju or Uzumaki would awaken the Mokuton but that was just speculation. The old man waked over to the boy bending down to give him a smile, "Naruto, you are a very special boy do you understand?"

"Special? Me?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes very special. I'm going to set you up an apartment so you can live on your own and get you your own sensei and as soon as you get set up we'll begin your training." Sarutobi smiled.

Naruto smiled then looked down, "But…I'm blind."

"Don't let that stop you," Ishida spoke up having gotten over the initial shock, "You've already proven you can handle yourself well despite your blindness being your only disability. You walked all the way over here by yourself without any help, walked over to the chair without tripping, and opened the window. That proves your blindness is nothing more than a crutch if you let it be."

Naruto took all their words in and looked back up with a look of determination, "I-I want to train!"

Sarutobi smiled, "Excellent."

* * *

Naruto settled into his new apartment. It was kind of strange that he was able to maneuver his way around the place despite being completely blind but didn't comment on it thinking that when people go blind they can still see, which is half-true and half-not. There was a knock on his door making him walk towards it having felt that the person on the other side wasn't a bad person and just like him. Someone who moves with the forest like him. Opening the door he could feel the person staring at him with curiosity instead of hatred and malice, which he had unfortunately gotten used to.

"Hello." Naruto greeted politely.

Yamato straighten up as soon as the boy spoke, "H-Hello Naruto. I'm your sensei here to train you, are you ready?"

"Yes sensei." Naruto smiled.

Yamato couldn't help but smile himself, even though the boy had lost his sight at the hands of a horrid villager he still managed to smile. It proved this boy wouldn't let anything get him down. Picking him up and putting him on securely on his back he set off towards the training area. Having stopped jumping from building to building he landed near the Third Training Ground where the Sandaime told him to. Placing Naruto down on the ground slowly and stood before him, as soon as he placed the boy down Yamato noticed that the trees around him started to move as though they were happy to see the blonde haired boy. How strange.

Clearing his throat Yamato looked at the boy who stood there patiently waiting for his sensei to say something, "Okay, before we begin allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Yamato."

Naruto smiled, "Yamato-sensei, my name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Pleased to meet you, now then lets begin shall we?"

Naruto nodded.

* * *

Sarutobi was watching the boy through his glass ball eager to see what they would be doing, while at the same time wondering how Naruto was able to perceive his surroundings despite being blind. There was the hospital and then there was the moving into his new apartment building, he moved around at a normal pace almost as though he could actually see but Ishida stated himself that Naruto is completely blind meaning he couldn't see. So the only explanation was that instead of seeing then he was probably sensing the things around him, which would make the boy a Kanchi Taipu (Sensor Type), but he had never seen a sensor ability like this. It was really impressive. To be perfectly honest, the boy was better off blind because now he wont have to see the villagers scorn but then again it will probably be more easier for the villagers because Naruto's blind now and they might even try to attack him directly. Just thinking about it worried him, especially since his birthday is coming up very soon.

Putting the orb away he looked out the window, wondering how the village could become the way it is now. He was afraid the "Will of Fire" was all but dead because the citizens of this village aren't exactly showing their Will of Fire seeing as how they would do this to the boy instead of following the Yondaime's wish. It was truly sad.

* * *

Yamato was impressed so far with his student.

They have been practicing chakra control for about an hour now and the blonde haired boy was able to use it perfectly despite his lack of sight. Not only that, when they did the tree and water walk exercise he was able to do both with no problems at all. When he asked how he was able to do that he simply smiled and turned to him.

"The forest around us is helping me, but I can also sense where the trees and water are because of the sounds they make."

It was an unusual answer but it made sense to the man anyway, with the chakra control exercise out the way they focused on other things now, like trying to practice his Mokuton. The boy had no problems creating clones like he thought he would seeing as how he has more chakra than the average Chunin and Jounin.

"Alright Naruto you've proven that you have good chakra control, so we'll begin working on your Mokuton seeing as how your able to utilize it very easily." Yamato instructed.

"Okay Yamato-sensei." Naruto smiled eager to use it.

Yamato smiled at the boy's eagerness to learn, "Now Mokuton is a nature based kekkei genkai. You know what a kekkei genkai is right?"

Naruto nodded, "It's a bloodline."

"Correct. Now Mokuton is special because it originated from the Senju clan." He continued.

"You mean you and me are related to the Shodaime?" Naruto was surprised.

Yamato rubbed the back of his head, "In a way I am, but I definitely know you are related to the man. A distant relative but relative all the same."

"That makes you a distant relative too Yamato-sensei, not just me." Naruto grinned.

Yamato's eyes grew wide before a small smile formed on his lips, "Thank you for saying that Naruto, it means a lot to me to hear you say that."

"Your welcome, so what are we learning?" Naruto wondered.

"Well for starters I wanna teach you the Moku Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Clone Jutsu)." Yamato smiled.

"Sounds pretty cool."

"It is, not to mention it comes in handy too." Yamato then realized something making Naruto smile.

"It's okay, the trees around me will give me the information I need to use the technique or any technique that involves hand seals, so its okay." He grinned.

Yamato wondered how that worked but then again he didn't question it, "Alright, but just in case I'll say the hand seals out loud for you okay?"

Naruto nodded.

Yamato got started, "Tiger → Dog → Snake: Moku Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Clone Jutsu)." Yamato created a wood clone that sprouted from his body and stood next to him smiling.

"Its your turn now Naruto, did you get all that?"

The boy smiled as a response and performed the hand seals: Tiger → Dog → Snake, "Moku Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Clone Jutsu)." Clapping his hands together five wood clones sprouted from his body. Two sprouted from his right side, two from his left and one from behind. All five clones smiled at Yamato and his clone making the man's jaw drop while the clone was impressed.

 _'_ _Th-that's incredible! He was able to make five clones on his first try?! Granted when I first started I could only make two but he made five out of nowhere just like that and doesn't look tired at all! Impressive!'_ Yamato thought. It was then he noticed something from each clone, "N-Naruto…"

"Yes?" the boy tilted his head.

"Y-Your clones…they're not blind! They can see!" Yamato stuttered.

"Eh, really? Is that true you guys, can you see?" Naruto wondered.

The clones dispelled themselves with a smile and transferred the memories over to their original making him smile from ear to ear, "I-It's true…they can really see…I can see their memories. So that's what you look like Yamato-sensei."

Yamato smiled, "This just made your training a whole lot easier! That means your shadow clones won't have a problem seeing either."

Naruto grinned, "Yeah! Oh, there's this one technique the forest taught me when I snuck out of the orphanage that one time."

"What technique did they teach you?" Yamato asked curiously.

Naruto moved away from the man making him raise a brow, as soon as the boy was close to the three wooden stakes he smiled and performed the hand seals, Tiger → Snake, "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)!" bringing his hands together multiple trees sprouted from the ground taking Yamato off guard, as soon as they stopped growing his jaw dropped for what felt like the second time today. There were a lot of trees surrounding him and Naruto with the boy sitting on top of the tree branch with a smile, "See? Pretty cool, isn't it?"

Yamato couldn't help but stare in awe at what he just witnessed, "Naruto that technique you just used! The only one to use it was the Shodaime Hokage Hashirama Senju! It was a secret technique that only he could use!"

"Really?" Naruto tilted his head, "The forest didn't tell me that, they only said that a great man used this technique before. They taught me this as a birthday present!"

 _'_ _The forest? Is he really saying that the forest of Konoha is actually alive and is speaking to him even now? It's never happened to him before but if what he's saying is true then what else is the forest telling him?'_ Yamato wondered.

"Are you surprised?" Naruto tilted his head with a grin.

Yamato returned it, "You could say that."

* * *

"So, how did it go?" Hiruzen questioned.

"To be honest with you, he only needs me to help him with the Mokuton. We started chakra control first and despite the massive chakra reserved given to him by the Kyūbi he was able to mold his chakra perfectly with no problems at all." Yamato reported.

"Really now? What else?"

Yamato took a deep breath, "Hokage-sama, are you sure that Naruto's blind?"

That wasn't what he was expecting to hear from the man.

"Last time I checked Tenzo the boy is completely blind, but he was able to find me and Ishida-sensei in a different room in the hospital just by feeling where we were." Hiruzen told him.

Yamato brought his finger up to his chin, "Then there's a possibility that he's a sensor. He must've sensed your chakra signature and simply followed it. He walks completely normal as though he's not even blind at all."

"I noticed that as well, he also mentioned that the trees tell him where to go and who's ahead of him even though he can see himself using his senses as his guide as well as his hearing." Hiruzen informed.

"He said the same thing," Yamato said, "He used one of the Shodaime's secret techniques all on his own saying the forest taught him and didn't even look tired."

"Oh? What technique was that?" Hiruzen inquired smoking his pipe.

"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)." Yamato told him making the man cough roughly prompting Yamato to go over and pat the old man's back.

Hiruzen gathered himself and looked at the man, "A-Are you sure of this?"

Yamato nodded, "I was right there when he did it. He said the forest taught him that as a birthday present."

Hiruzen was in no question doubting that statement seeing as how that the Shodaime created the very same forest himself when he first established this village a long time ago. It's possible that his very will still lives on in the village itself taking the form of the very forest around them.

"Also, he may be blind but his clones certainly aren't." Yamato said.

"What?!" That took Hiruzen off guard.

"Yes, while the normal clone jutsu copies the blindness the shadow clones, as well as the wood clones don't show any signs of blindness at all. They can see." He said.

"Hmmm, I've never heard of such a thing happening with shadow clones before. Very interesting." The old man said.

"I agree."

"Where's the boy now?"

"He's currently at Ichiraku's with my wood clone watching over him. I saw the hateful looks the villagers were giving him but even worse so. Now that they know he's blind some of them openly said horrible things to him but he plainly ignored them and talked to me instead almost as though they didn't exist." Yamato scowled.

"I see." Hiruzen frowned himself.

Yamato then smiled, "He's a strong boy. It seems that him being blind has allowed him to gain confidence."

"I see, that's good." Hiruzen smiled.

Yamato stilled then smiled, "My clone dropped Naruto off. He's okay now."

Hiruzen sighed with relief, "That's good news."

Yamato couldn't agree more with the old man. When they were walking back the same villagers tried to taunt him but once again he blatantly ignored them and talked to his clone instead telling him how much fun he had learning new Mokuton techniques. He also saw his clone give a side-glance to the villagers face and saw they were red with anger and openly called him a "demon brat," but once again Naruto ignored them. Yamato had to wonder though, did he know about the Kyūbi?

"Is that all?" Hiruzen questioned.

"Yes that's all I have to report Hokage-sama." Yamato bowed.

"Very well, you may leave."

"Yes." And like that Yamato was gone.

Hiruzen couldn't help but wonder about Naruto though. How long had he'd been able to use Mokuton for? He'd never once thought about it until now.

* * *

Naruto was in his room in his new apartment with an open window, the forest told him they'd be giving him a gift today. It was a scroll about Suiton (Water Release) techniques and he couldn't be more excited. The forest told him that tomorrow they'd teach him how to utilize water techniques because they'd secretly did the chakra paper thing already and he was told to keep it a secret, so he did.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he saw a vine bring a scroll to him making his eyes gleam and take it gratefully, "Thank you." He smiled. He vine left and he closed the window, "Tomorrow will be fun."

* * *

 **Next Time: Lavender Eyes.**


	2. Lavender Eyes

Here's Hinata! ^_^

* * *

Naruto woke up early and had breakfast before heading out to the forest to train his new Suiton techniques. He jumped from the roof of buildings to get to the forest not caring that it was dangerous but he knew where to go anyway so it doesn't matter. Having jumped off the last building he headed off right into the forest into one of the more secluded areas where no one will find him or bother him.

"Good morning." Naruto said to the forest. He heard the trees rustle meaning they were saying good morning to him as well. Naruto decided to get right to business using the shadow clone hand seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)." He created a shadow clone that smiled at him. Naruto handed the scroll over to the clone, "I need you to read this and perform the hand seals, when your down with that dispel yourself and send me the information, okay?"

The clone took the scroll and nodded, "You got it boss." The clone went off further into the forest while Naruto decided to sit down lotus style and meditate so he could talk with his friend.

 **Mindscape**

Naruto had arrived in his inner mind so he could see his friend. The Kyūbi. Now when he first found out he had the giant beast inside him he was honestly fascinated with the creature and started talking to him much to the beast's confusion but they ended up talking for what felt like hors before the boy had to go but he always came back to speak with him inside his mind because its lonely by yourself.

Already knowing where it is he needed to go he found the giant beast looking bored, "Kyūbi!" Naruto called out walking up to it getting its attention.

 **"** **Hmph, looks who's here. Haven't seen you in awhile, got bored of me already?"** Kyūbi snickered.

"No way! You're always fun to talk to, a lot more than the villagers. They annoy me." Naruto huffed crossing his arms.

 **"** **You and me both,"** Kyūbi then noticed something and leaned closer to the boy and saw the state his eyes were in, **"What the hell happened to your eyes?!"**

Naruto shook the back of his head, "Um, well…you see the scary lady at the orphanage poured some stuff in my eyes that really burned. When I woke up, I was told by the trees that I was permanently blind."

Kyūbi was pissed! He already hated the village for sealing him, but to do this to his container was just despicable. He growled menacingly wanting to kill the woman but a hand was placed on his snout making him look down at the boy who was smiling, "It's okay, the mean lady was killed by Jiji. And besides I don't need my eyes to feel the gentle breeze, hear the sounds of the rustling trees, or walk wherever I want. The trees do that for me or I do it on my own, plus I can still fight even though I'm blind. I won't let this by crutch. I promise."

Kyūbi looked down at the boy with a newfound respect for the first time. His previous hosts, Mito and Kushina earned his respect in some ways but this boy. Naruto was something else.

 **"** **Your something special, kit."** Kyūbi smirked.

Naruto grinned, "Yep! Oh, I know how to make you a better landscape so you can be more comfortable! You wanna see?"

Kyūbi raised a brow but gave into curiosity, **"Show me what you've got."**

Naruto grinned and brought his hands together concentrating, "Mokuton: Seichi Mori (Wood Release: Sacred Forest)!" the surroundings started to change as trees began to sprout from the mindscape erasing the water below them and the walls overall changing the scene all together. When it was done, the Kyūbi realized he was no longer in the cage and instead inside a giant shrine with fox symbols painted all over the walls. Looking outside he saw that it was actually sunny out and there were giant trees everywhere as though protecting the fox.

 **"** **What?"** Kyūbi stared.

Naruto yawned sleepy from using the jutsu, "Do you like it? I made it myself, but it was really hard."

Kyūbi may not have liked the Mokuton but the kid uses it so well and efficiently that it was simply amazing, **"I'll admit, this is much better than your previous mindscape."**

"It is." Naruto smiled.

Kyūbi stared at the boy for a long time then smirked, **"For making your mindscape less insufferable I'll tell you my true name."**

Naruto smiled eager to hear it.

 **"** **My true name is…"**

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes with a smile on his face, "Kurama…" he felt his clone's memories come to him in waves making him smile. He stood up and tried out the first jutsu, "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Jutsu)." A clone made of water materialized next to Naruto making him smile from ear to ear.

"Looks like it worked. The feedback you get from the shadow clones is amazing." Naruto smiled then dispelled the clone, "Okay, now let's try something else."

 **Elsewhere**

Some villagers saw Naruto enter the forest and made their way over there to kill him once and for all. There were a total of ten villagers that were walking through the forest unaware that the trees started moving on their own. They took no notice and made their way through the forest wanting to kill the demon, since the boy's blind they believed that killing him will be easy since he couldn't see. But they made a great error, while it's true he couldn't see them…he could sense them. Naruto was too busy trying to practice a large jutsu to take notice of the villagers sneaking up on him from behind.

"There it is." A male villager glared.

"Well, what are waiting for? Let's kill it already!"

"I couldn't agree more."

They moved from their spot with their weapons in hand slowly coming up from behind him unaware of what the boy was doing, and that proved to be their downfall.

Naruto closed his eyes, _'The clone was able to do the jutsu, but it only came out small when it tried it. So let's try it again then. I just wish it didn't have so much hand signs, but oh well.'_ he performed the seals, Ox → Monkey → Hare → Rat → Boar → Bird → Ox → Horse → Bird → Rat → Tiger → Dog → Tiger → Snake → Ox → Ram → Snake → Boar → Ram → Rat → Monkey → Bird → Dragon → Bird → Ox → Horse → Ram → Tiger → Snake → Rat → Monkey → Hare → Boar → Dragon → Ram → Rat → Ox → Monkey → Bird → Yang Water → Rat → Boar → Bird, "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu)!" a giant water dragon sprung up from the ground and roared its mighty head making the villagers stop cold turkey.

"Wh-what?!"

"What is that?"

The water dragon glared down at the villagers before shooting towards them engulfing them and sending the fools far away from the boy and into the dark parts of the forest. Naruto opened his eyes to see water on the ground and smile, "Alright, it worked!" he then looked around, "I thought I heard voices earlier, did I imagine it?"

The water dragon brought the villagers gathered here to kill Naruto to the dark place of the forest where it left them on their own before vanishing. Before the stupid men could do anything one of them screamed and disappeared making the others frightened. Looking around they saw no one but that didn't mean they were being watched, before they knew two more of them disappeared, then another guy, then another guy making them scared and the should be.

You never mess with the forest of Konoha.

Naruto simply practiced unaware of the begging carnage of the foolish male villagers that tried to kill him just not too long ago, "Hmmm, okay let's try the other one then I'll go and get lunch before coming back to get right back to it again." He preformed another hand sign, Tiger → Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger, "Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Style: Water Wall)!" taking a deep breath he sprouted some water out of his mouth and formed a wall around him before cutting the jutsu off, "Okay, I got them memorized to memory now." His stomach grumbled, "Now I'm hungry, I'll head over to Ichiraku then."

He walked out of the forest and spotted some buildings to jump from so he could head over to his favorite place but something stopped him. Stopping on one of the buildings he sensed a chakra signature that felt gentle and kind, yet very deadly when it wants to be surrounded by three individuals. Following the signature he stopped when he spotted the figure and it was indeed surrounded by three individuals that had bad intentions, something he all too familiar with, "Being mean to a girl is just wrong." He jumped down getting their attention making the three boys step back from the girl as she jumped in surprise when he landed in front of her, "You shouldn't be mean to her just because your bored. Its not nice."

"Huh?" one of the boys smiled.

"Get lost you loser!"

"Yeah, your nothing but some stupid orphan anyway!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Your stupid."

"What did you say?"

"I said. Your stupid." Naruto smiled.

One of the boys charged at him sending a punch but due to the blonde boys enhanced senses he felt it coming and ducked then sent a hard punch to his gut making him fall over and grip his stomach in pain. Naruto stood up and stared at him, "Attacking a blind person isn't very smart. That's why I called you stupid earlier." He didn't wait to hear the replies of the other two because he made the shadow clone hand sign, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)." Two clones appeared before the boys and they had their sight so they could see them. The two clones attacked the other two boys punching one hard in the face, while other one kicked the other boy in the gut making him hold his stomach in pain too.

Naruto sighed and dispelled the two clones before turning to look at the silent girl, "Are you okay?" he felt her flinch when he turned to speak to her.

"U-Um, yes I'm fine. Th-thank you." She bowed.

"Good. I don't like it when people bully others, its not right." Naruto crossed his arms.

"Um, I-I'm Hinata Hyūga. What's your name?" Hinata asked politely.

"Naruto Uzumaki." He smiled.

Somehow Hinata felt herself smiling as well, "I-Is it true that you're blind?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah I'm blind, but I can still see where I'm going by listening and sensing."

"Listening and sensing?" Hinata tilted her head in confusion.

He nodded, "I can hear the birds chirping clearly, I can hear people walking around, and I can sense where they are too. But for special people I can see and sense the blue aura around them but sensei corrected me and told me that it wasn't aura but chakra. I sensed yours, so that's why I came here. Its kind and gentle, yet strong."

Hinata blushed when he complimented her like that. No one else had ever complimented her, not even her father, "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Your welcome Hinata-chan, by the way what color are your eyes? I bet their really pretty." He smiled.

She blushed even more when he complimented her eyes, "W-Well s-some p-people say its l-lavender."

Naruto blinked then smile, "I can see it, oh wait actually I cant but I think I know that your eyes are the most prettiest eyes in the whole village."

If possible she was redder now than she was ever before. It was official, she already had a crush on the boy.

Naruto's stomach grumbled again, "That's right I'm still hungry, I'll see you around then, Hinata-chan." He jumped up on the side of the building before jumping from rooftop to rooftop heading towards Ichiraku leaving a blushing and smiling Hinata behind him.

Yep. She already liked the boy.

* * *

Naruto yawned as he headed towards his apartment after having a good meal at Ichiraku's again. As soon as he was done with lunch, he went back to the forest to train some more and was utterly exhausted so he was trekking back to get some sleep. It was already nighttime anyway, so there was no point in staying any longer even though he wasn't afraid to walk through the forest at night like some people. He was on his way home when he sensed Hinata's chakra running fast but so fast the he couldn't keep up himself. Sensing where she was heading he followed after the signature and saw a suspicious individual carrying Hinata below his arm making him mad, "Mokuton: Shinobigaeshi (Wood Release: Bamboo Spikes)!" thrusting his arm forward bamboo spikes formed and slammed in the back of the kidnapper making him cry out in pain and fall to the ground while dropping Hinata in the process but Naruto was able to get to her in time before she could fall to the ground.

Hinata opened her eyes finally and saw that Naruto was staring at her full of worry, "You okay, Hinata-chan?"

She blushed, "N-Naruto-kun? Where am I?"

He set her down, "You were being taken away by that bad guy." He turned and saw the guy was getting back up and glared, "Hinata-chan, get back."

"B-But!" she was about to protest.

"It's fine, I got this." He smiled.

The man stood up slowly and charged at the boy but Naruto wasn't worried he quickly made the snake hand sign, "Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu (Wood Style: Silent Strangle Jutsu)!" tree wood sprouted from he ground and went towards the kidnaper and the man found himself bound unable to move.

"Wh-what?!"

Hinata was amazed, "A-Amazing…"

Naruto stared at the man not at all happy he tried to kidnapped his friend, "I don't know who you are but you tried to kidnap Hinata-chan, so that means you're a bad person," he narrowed his eyes at the still bound man, "I learned this move from the forest and haven't had time to use it yet, but I'll use it now." He formed the snake hand sign, "Mokuton: Kajukai Kōrin (Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees)." Trees started growing from the surface where they were making the man stop struggling to see what was happening. As the forest around them was being created flowers began to bloom and release pollen making the man's eyes feel heavy and he soon drifted into unconsciousness. Naruto sighed and released him when the man passed out.

"Naruto-kun that was amazing. How did you do that?" Hinata asked in awe.

Before the blonde could tell her he passed out himself due to exhaustion, "Naruto-kun!" she went over to him trying to wake him up but stopped when she realized he was only sleeping and smiled, "Thank you." No longer after she said that her father appeared as well as the Hyūga guards, she wondered how long they had been here or maybe they just got here. No, something told her that they were here the whole time and saw what Naruto did to save her.

Was that a good thing? Or a bad thing?

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes slowly sitting up from the futon he was laying on and yawned while stretching. Looking around he saw he was surrounded by fancy looking walls, even his clothes were fancy because he was wearing an elegant hakama. He tried to remember just what did he do to get himself in this predicament then remembered, he saved Hinata from a kidnapper, then he knocked him out, then he passed out himself. He was really tired.

The sliding door opened alerting him, "Uzumaki-sama, Hiashi-sama requests your presence in his office." It was a member of the Hyūga branch house, he could tell.

Naruto found himself nodding, "Okay." He got up from the futon and neatly making the blanket before following after the branch member that was taking him to meet Hiashi. He heard about the man before from Jiji, he said that the man was really st-st-stoic that's the word, so he had to behave himself just like Yamato-sensei said: "Manners are always important." He stopped walking when the bodyguard did.

The guard knocked, "Hiashi-sama, I've brought Uzumaki-sama."

"Send him in." a voice on the other side ordered.

The guard opened the door allowing Naruto to walk inside and stared at the tall man before him. Naruto bowed his head in respect and Hiashi did the same to the boy as he watched him sit before him in his office.

"Naruto, first allow me to thank you for saving my daughter last night." Hiashi actually smiled.

Naruto bowed his head a little, "It's fine. I'm just glad Hinata-chan is alright."

"As am I, you did a very brave thing yesterday but it was also dangerous. You passed out right after that man did." He frowned.

Naruto smiled nervously, "Well actually, I've been practicing Suiton all day yesterday while training and felt really exhausted so I was on my way home to get some sleep."

"Suiton? Then what was that you used last night?" Hiashi asked curiously.

"Mokuton. I've been able to do it for awhile now and just started to practice it." Naruto explained.

Hiashi's eyes widened, _'So I was right, that was the famous Shodaime's Mokuton he used yesterday.'_ There was something else he wanted to ask, "Naruto, if you don't mind me asking. Your completely blind aren't you?"

Naruto nodded, "Yep. I don't need my eyes to see or feel things when I can either sense or hear them. I'm able to see a person's chakra or sense it, that's how I was able sense Hinata nearby me when she was being kidnapped yesterday. I can also feel the vibrations in the earth too, like those three jerks that were trying to bully her yesterday. I felt one of them send a punch my way but I was able to detect and counter it."

 _'_ _So he can ready a person's movements simply by feeling vibrations in the ground? I've never heard of such a thing before.'_ Hiashi was intrigued now, "So you saved my daughter twice yesterday then, thank you."

"There's no need to thank me Hiashi-san, I should be thanking you for even letting me stay here. I didn't mean to intrude." Naruto said honestly.

"You don't have to apologize, after what you did yesterday me and the elders came to a conclusion. Naruto Uzumaki, you are hereby protected by the members of the Hyūga clan. Should any of the foolish villagers try anything they will face our wrath. You are also welcome to come to the Hyūga manor as many times as you like." He smiled.

Naruto was taken by surprise but smiled anyway and bowed, "Thank you very much, Hiashi-san."

 _'_ _You'll be calling me Father soon when you turn 18.'_ He didn't mention the he and the elders decide that he and Hinata were engaged and neither child knows about it, _'Seeing their reactions should be somewhat interesting.'_

* * *

Hiruzen sighed when he put a piece a paper down from the Raikage demanding the head of Hiashi Hyuuga as compensation for the death of their ambassador even thought the man had confessed that it was the Raikage himself who sent him here in the first place to steal the Byakugan secret through Hinata. The man was executed not too long ago for trying to kidnapped the girl and now they were demanding compensation. It was a good thing that they didn't know about Naruto possessing the Mokuton otherwise they'd be asking for him too, he smiled when he heard from Hiashi yesterday that the boy had saved her from the fool using another one of Shodaime's technique's yesterday. The boy was progressing but Tenzo was obviously worried when he heard Naruto had passed out yesterday having already seen the boy as his little brother as well as student. He already made preparations for the boy to enter into the academy ignoring both the council and shinobi's protests. He is the Hokage and he made the decisions not them.

And he won't be alone because Hinata will be by his side the whole time.

* * *

 **Next Time: Starting the Academy!**


	3. Starting the Academy

Going to the Academy. Konohamaru and the Genin test for Team 7 starts in the next chapter. And I'm going to explain why Naruto's Shadow Clones can see and not him,while the normal clone jutsu can portray the blindness Shadow Clones are sentient and true they are carbon copies but Naruto's Shadow Clones have always been special. Also, Naruto can't sense anyone if they completely hide their presence like Kakashi can or if their standing on water so he's at a disadvantage in that department. And I apologize if I made Nartuto's character Overpowered that was not my intention but I ended up doing it anyway with Water Dragon technique and apologize for that. I got a little too excited making the chapters and gone a little overboard. Since Naruto's a pre-teen he can use the techniques without getting tired all that much since he has extra chakra reserves thanks to Kurama, and speaking of Kurama he does still hate humanity with a passion especially Madara Uchiha but respects Naruto a little because of how they met and I will explain that in a flashback as well as how Naruto can get around while blind.

* * *

Hinata and Naruto walked hand in hand to the academy with one of the Hyūga bodyguards following right behind them eyeing the villagers carefully. Hinata could see the villagers give Naruto hateful glares and calling him names but he ignored them in favor squeezing Hinata's hand and walking ahead of him. He really needed to concentrate on the route to the academy and had to focus so he had no time to listen to the villager's nonsense. Speaking of which, he heard that 10 villagers disappeared and no one's seen them since, the ANBU had been searching for them but found nothing so far. Naruto wondered what could've happened to them, oh well it was probably none of his business.

Hinata squeezed his hand back with a smile happy her father said she could still see Naruto. She had decided yesterday that she had fallen in love with him the first time she met him, she didn't care he was blind at all he was strong, kind, and brave. The building to the academy came into view and Hinata saw other children were gathered around, she turned towards the guard, "Thank you for escorting us here, you can leave now if you want."

The guard bowed, "Be careful on your ay home from school, Hinata-sama, Uzumaki-sama." He walked away from the kids at the gate while they walked near the other children.

Hinata saw some of them move away as soon as they saw Naruto making her frown, "It doesn't bother me y'know."

"Eh?"

"I doesn't bother me at all, I've stopped caring about what people think of me a long time ago Hinata-chan. So it's okay." He smiled, "Why don't we just go inside."

Hinata smiled and nodded and they continued to walk inside the building ignoring the looks the kids were giving them and walked inside the classroom agreeing to sit in the back near the window waiting for the others to arrive. She would protect him from their cruel words just like he protected her.

The classroom started to fill in and the students were taking their seats, a few interesting individuals looked over at Naruto and Hinata and that was Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi. Shikamaru was told by his dad that Naruto was blind but walked around the village as though he could still see confusing the boy. Is it a blind thing?

The door opened and Iruka walked in the classroom making the class quiet down, "Alright class, settle down. Welcome to the academy, today you will learn to be ninja and go out into the real world."

"Hai sensei!" the class said in unison.

Iruka eyes Naruto hearing from Sandaime that the boy became blind by the matron of the orphanage and she was executed as a result. Deep down he felt the woman deserved it for doing that to such a small innocent child, he may have at some point and time felt the same way but he realized how stupid he was to believe something like that and not see the real him. He was no different from the villagers because of his thinking but thankfully he saw just how much he would have turned into the villagers thinking of such things if he didn't get his act together. He decided the help the boy by helping him through his education.

* * *

Hinata and Naruto were outside sitting under a giant tree, she watched as some of the kids stayed away from them and she guessed it was probably because their parents told them not to get close to Naruto, but some of them snickered at him mocking him because he's blind making her activate her Byakugan at them shutting them up permanently.

Naruto sensed her emotions and poked her forehead making her look at him, "I told you its fine."

"B-But…"

He smiled, "I don't need to prove anything to anyone, I am who I am, and that is Naruto Uzumaki."

She smiled and grabbed his hand, "You are and always will be to me, Naruto-kun."

"Of course, and besides going to the Academy wont be so hard for me anyway." He told her.

"Why?"

He whispered something in her ear making her eyes grow big, "You mean…"

He nodded his head with a smile, "Make sure you tell Iruka-sensei though, okay?"

"Okay."

When Hinata got back in the classroom with Naruto's clone that could see they sat in the back of the classroom again. Iruka had heard that Naruto already knew how to do Shadow Clone already making him a prodigy for learning it so early not only that but the clones could see perfectly well too! He wondered if the Sandaime knew about this and sent him to the Academy, but the real question was. Where was the real Naruto hiding?

Naruto was currently taking a nap on top of a tree branch with his hands behind his head without a care in the world, the beauty of shadow clones were just wonderful. And as an added bonus no one was bothering him so he could sleep all he wants and when the lessons were over he could just have the clone dispel and send him the feedback like always. He frowned though when he sensed two people approaching him, one felt like shadows were following him, while the other felt like a human tank. How strange, "Did you need something from me?" he asked without opening his eyes,

Shikamaru stopped in his tracks and stared up at the blonde as did Choji, "Are you're sure your blind?"

"Last time I checked yes, I repeat do you need something?" he repeated.

"We noticed you were skipping class, but we just saw you in the classroom." Choji said a little confused as to how there could be two of them.

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome, you used a Shadow Clone didn't you?"

Naruto smiled his eyes still closed, "Your smart."

Choji looked at his best friend, "Shadow Clone? But isn't that an advanced jutsu?"

"Yeah." Shikamaru nodded.

Naruto opened his eyes and stared down at them, "Why are you two skipping class? You bored?"

Shikamaru walked over to the tree Naruto was sleeping on top of and sat down, "Its troublesome to go to class. I'll sleep out here."

Choji sat next to Shikamaru leaned against the tree with his best friend with a smile.

Naruto said nothing and imply closed his eyes again accepting the new arrivals not feeling their presence as a disturbance.

* * *

A few years past and Naruto was enjoying his time at the Academy, a few teachers tried to hinder his education but were caught and severely punished or in this case their teaching licenses were revoked. Naruto and Hinata grew closer and closer each day since their early days at the Academy. Shikamaru and Choji would sometime hang out with them along with the new arrivals Kiba and Shino but it wasn't everyday, Naruto can skip classes and have his clone attend them because he's blind and can just relax but they cant keep doing it everyday otherwise they'll get in trouble with their parents something Naruto didn't want.

There was also the "Uchiha Incident" that spread throughout the village like wildfire, Sasuke Uchiha was the only survivor after his older brother Itachi Uchiha killed the rest of the clan and took many people by surprise but Naruto met Itachi once. He didn't sense any hostility from him at all, he felt pain from the man so he talked to Itachi in the forest one day. The man had actually asked him for advice, him of all people. He had never given anyone advice before so this was a first but he did his best to give him his opinion about a decision he was forced to make. He simply told the man, "Your doing it to protect the person you love the most. The old man told me once that we all have to make tough decisions and that sometimes their not always good, but we make that choice because there's someone we love the most and want to protect. And we'll do anything to keep them safe." He didn't know why Itachi hugged him when he finished saying what he had to say but it felt good to be hugged, even though Hinata hugged him all the time anyway. Speaking of Hinata he goes over to her house everyday and watch or well feel her train with her father and she her stances were sloppy at first which he told Hiashi but after practicing and practicing she had gotten the hang of it and was able to keep up with her father. Hiashi told him the sad news about how his brother was the sacrificial lamb to Kumo after the "Hyūga Incident" as they called it. Hiashi was against it of course and was fully prepared to sacrifice himself but his brother Hizashi wouldn't let him do it and decided to sacrifice himself for the sake of the village. The man showed such a sad expression because he couldn't save his brother, it made Naruto feel sad for the man as well as Hinata and Neji her cousin who she calls "Neji-nii-san." He met her little sister Hanabi too and the girl was adorable as a baby but now she tries to attack Naruto all the time seeing as how he would always sense her coming or block her attacks whenever she sees him but he always got her in the end making him laugh. She didn't hate him, actually she started calling him, "Naruto-nii-sama" everytime he comes over for a visit making him smile. Neji…was a different story. After the death of his father he completely changed especially towards Hinata. Naruto could sense the emotions coming off from him in droves, the negative emotions he felt were intense. The emotion of hatred. He knows because he would feel it from the villagers every single day of his life but he ignores it just like some ignore him, well that's not exactly true. The foreign businesses and merchants loved his company and their faces were light up with a smile everytime they saw him walk in and either buy things or give them things from the forest like flowers, plants, and herbs. The other stores in the village tried to say malicious things about him especially taunt him because he's blind and that made the foreign business owners and merchants give them a nasty glare and tell them how truly disgusting their truly are and that this is the real face of the famous Konohagakure making the malicious villagers feel the reality of what they'd just said. And the things Naruto was giving the merchants and foreign shop owners were rare plants and herbs that can cure diseases if used correctly like he told them and since they were rally rare they sold for a high price too. The foreign shop owners would give him high quality food to take home and make, and when they asked how he'll be able to cook the food he was given, he simply smiled and said he knows a "secret technique" to making the food and wouldn't tell anyone. One of the weapon owners gave the boy an Ōdachi blade so he could either walk with it or use it in combat telling him he could take enemies off guard if he did.

Naruto didn't put the blade to waste and would practice with it everyday, as well as practice his Taijutsu with his shadow clones. He realized he could read his opponents movements simply by sensing them thanks to his enhanced senses, hearing and practicing with shadow clones was really helpful.

At the Academy Sasuke had his own fan club, which the other boys found annoying but Naruto really didn't care and he could sense that Sasuke didn't care much for them either, the most annoying ones were Sakura and Ino and boy could the pink haired girl scream much to the blonde's annoyance because she was giving him a headache. Being blind means you lose one of your senses and that also means your other senses are enhanced so yeah, having enhanced hearing can be both a blessing and a curse. He also noticed that wherever he and Hinata went, Sasuke would always follow them from a distance but its not because he was interested in the her, no he was interested in him. Naruto had noticed it before that the raven-haired boy would take to following him around from a distance and just watch him and that bothered him a lot. Despite Naruto being blind the blonde was at the top of the class same as Sasuke, he got perfect scores in Taijutsu, Weapons training, and Academics much to his classmates surprise except Hinata, Iruka, Shikamaru, and Choji of course. He and Sasuke were both considered the "Rookie of the Year" much to his fan girl's despair, apparently only Sasuke should only have that title and not him, which was really stupid. Seriously in his opinion only Hinata should be considered a real kunoichi. The kids thought he was faking being blind but he showed them his eyes and confirmed that he was indeed blind that shut them up quickly. It was then Sasuke showed interest in the blonde haired boy but Naruto wanted nothing to do with him because of what he was sensing from boy. Hatred, revenge, and obsession, such negative emotions he wanted nothing to do with at all. Emotions like those will do nothing but consume you in the end, why the raven-haired was following him around like that he will never know and honestly he didn't want to know.

The blonde, now 12 years old was wearing a black shirt with long sleeves with orange outlines and black pants with orange outlines on them. His Ōdachi blade in his hand that he uses to walk around with even though he didn't need to, but it just felt so right in his hand. He was currently walking with Iruka his most favorite teacher in the Academy to Ichiraku where he promised to treat the boy for lunch seeing as how when they get back the boy will have to take the Genin Exams. Iruka examined the boy and saw he didn't look nervous at all, in fact he was calm and collected.

"Naruto, are you nervous about the Genin Exam this afternoon?" Iruka asked.

Naruto smiled, "Not really, If anything I'm excited. I hope to be on the same team as Hinata-chan too."

Iruka chuckled, "You two have been together since you were little, who knows you might be on the same team."

"I really hope so, I'd rather be with her than Ino or god forbid Sakura. Her screaming isn't good for my hearing at all." Naruto rubbed his left ear subconsciously making Iruka chuckle nervously. Its true that Sakura can be a little loud, oh who was he kidding she was _really_ loud. They arrived at the restaurant where Teuchi greeted the boy and teacher.

"So Naruto, did you take the exam yet?" Teuchi smiled already making the blonde's favorite.

"No not yet, I know Yamato-sensei's excited about it though. I actually hope he becomes my sensei." Naruto smiled. He showed his sensei one time his Suiton and Fūton techniques making the man smile at his progress with his training and he still trained his Mokuton too. Katon wouldn't work for him for some reason so he just forgot about it.

"I hope so too, the two of you act like the siblings the way you interact with each other." The man smiled placing the bowl before the boy.

Naruto grabbed the chopsticks next to him and smiled, "Something like that."

Ayame came out from the back and smiled at the blonde, "Hinata's not with you today?"

"No not today, she wanted to hang out with Shino and Kiba for a bit. Besides, I can pretty much walk all by myself anyway she just likes to help me out sometimes." He said eating his ramen.

Iruka still found his student fascinating after all this time, when he heard that some teachers were planning to hinder his education he immediately reported them to the Hokage where he proceeded to fire them quickly and replaced them with ANBU disguised as teachers but he had a sneaking suspicion that Naruto knew and didn't say anything. He frowned when he saw one time Naruto was outside just looking up at the sky and some boys decided to bother him by taunting him about his blindness making the man shake his head in disappointment, he was about to go outside and reprimand them when Naruto spoke in a calm tone, "My blindness doesn't hinder my everyday life as people assume, I'm glad to be blind because I don't have to look at the ugly side of people like you." And with that he walked away leaving the boys standing there unable to do anything, or say anything against what the blonde said. He smiled at the memory, glad the boy handled the situation without resorting to violence.

Yeah, he'll do great when it comes to the Genin Exams.

* * *

Naruto stood before the examiners, which were Iruka and Mizuki who the blonde did not like at all and the feeling was mutual on Mizuki's end as well. Not that he cared.

"Okay Naruto, you ready?" Iruka smiled.

Naruto smiled back, "Ready."

"First off, use Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)." Iruka instructed.

Naruto did the hand signs, Dog → Boar → Ram, "Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)." There was a puff of smoke and Naruto transformed into Yamato taking the two Chunin off guard.

"That's really impressive Naruto good work." Iruka marked passed for the transformation technique.

Naruto transformed back, "Thank you."

"Now, the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Jutsu)." He smiled.

The blonde smiled and got right to it, Tiger → Boar → Ox → Dog → Snake, "Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Jutsu)." He replaced himself with a log.

"Excellent again." Iruka marked passed.

Naruto jumped down from the ceiling and smiled.

"And the last would be the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)." Iruka said.

"Do you want me to use the normal Clone jutsu or Shadow clone jutsu?" Naruto asked.

Iruka smirked not paying to the look of disbelief on Mizuki's face, "Surprise us."

Naruto made the Tiger sign, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)." Two Naruto clones appeared on each side of him making Mizuki's eyes widen.

Iruka smiled again, "Excellent job Naruto! You pass the exam! Congratulations you are officially a Genin!" he tossed the boy his headband and the blonde caught it with a smile.

"Thank you very much." Naruto bowed as wrapped it around his forehead and moved towards the way where his long sword laid. Grabbing the blade he walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

Mizuki looked over at Iruka still flabbergasted, "He can use shadow clones?"

"He's been able to do it since he was five years old." Iruka smiled.

"But that's a B-Rank technique!"

"I was just as surprised myself when I first saw it in my classroom, and by the way Mizuki. Did you notice anything peculiar about the Shadow Clones?" Iruka smiled.

Mizuki blinked then widened his eyes in realization, "The shadow clones…they could see!"

"That's right, Naruto himself is blind but his shadow clones can see just fine. Pretty amazing isn't it?"

Mizuki didn't comment because he was too busy thinking about his plan, and how it involved the demon brat. Oh well, he'd just have to compromise instead.

The other Genin gathered and saw Naruto walk out of the room with a headband wrapped around his head making their jaws drop.

"What the hell?! How did you manage to pass when you can't even see!" Ino yelled.

Kiba whistled, "Damn, I thought that since he's blind he'd fail the exam."

"Things aren't always what they seem." Shino commented.

Hinata smiled, "I knew Naruto-kun would pass."

"Troublesome blonde is unpredictable." Shikamaru sighed.

"But that's just how Naruto is." Choji smiled.

Sasuke stared at the blonde hard watching him walk away from them without answering anyone's questions. Sakura watched the raven-haired boy stare at the blonde making her frown, what's so special about Naruto-baka anyway? Just because he's Rookie of The Year like Sasuke-kun doesn't make him better than him at all.

Naruto ignored the rest of the rookies and started walking out of the building and summoned a Shadow Clone who appeared before him, "I'll be in the forest, while I'm there I want you to lure the you-know-who to the forest. He should have already found out where I live."

"Got it boss." The vanished.

Naruto started walking towards the forest, _'Mizuki's evil intentions where as clear as day, too bad Iruka-sensei didn't sense it but I guess that's just the perks of being blind.'_

* * *

Mizuki was jumping from roof to roof heading towards his intended target, the demon brat. It was currently night time and he had stolen the Scroll of Seals successfully, now all he had to do was go to the brat's house, drag him out and dump him in the forest where he would be killed by the ANBU. A vicious smile appeared on his lips excited to finally kill the demon brat that should have died a long time ago.

He arrived at the apartment and peaked through the window but didn't see the brat, just a bunch of worthless flowers, he felt a sharp object hit him in the back of the head, "Ow, what the hell?!" he turned around and saw the very same brat he was looking for.

The Shadow Clone gave Mizuki a cold glare and turned his back to him, "You want me, right? Then come get me, if you can keep up that is." And like that he took off with a small smirk on his lips.

"You little brat!" Mizuki chased right after him ignoring the fact that he was being lured into a trap and by a shadow clone no less.

The clone led Mizuki right into the forest where Naruto hangs out all the time and stood there with his back facing the Chunin, "End of the line, brat."

The clone tilted his head so Mizuki could see and realized something to late, "You!"

"It is the end of the line…for you that is." The clone dispelled and he heard laughter from above a tree branch and saw Naruto staring down at him.

"I didn't really expect you to follow my clone all the way here but I guess that goes to show just how stupid you really are." Naruto smiled.

"Shut up demon brat!" Mizuki yelled.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Don't you people get tired of saying the same old things everyday? I know that I have the Kyūbi sealed inside me and I don't really care."

"What?!"

Naruto smiled, "Let me guess you were expecting me to breakdown or something, right? Get over yourselves already, I've got better things to do than wonder about what you idiots think about me."

Mizuki felt the scroll on his back be yanked off forcefully sending him to the ground looking behind him he didn't see anyone, when he turned back he saw Naruto was gone and looked around nervously taking out the giant shuriken off his back, "Where the hell are you?!" he heard laughter making his blood run cold.

"What's the matter Mizuki-sensei? Why so scared?" his voice sounded throughout the forest.

Mizuki was still looking around his heart beating fast.

"That's a fast heartbeat I hear Mizuki-sensei."

The man stopped moving sweat pouring down his face, _'H-How?'_

"Didn't you know? I have _very_ good hearing, and I can hear your heartbeat pretty well. It's beating really fast…your scared aren't you?"

"Like hell I am!"

"Your heartbeat says otherwise, you really shouldn't lie Mizuki-sensei. Because your not very good at it."

"Sh-shut up!" he bumped into a tree trying to find the blonde, all of a sudden a vine slapped the man across the face sending him flying across the forest and making him drop his weapon. Lifting his head up from the ground and touching his cheek and looked up and saw the blonde smiling at him.

Naruto made the clone sign, "Tajū Mokuton Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Multi Wood Clone Jutsu)." Multiple wood clones sprouted from the trees all around them making Mizuki sit up and crawl away from the boy he didn't get far because more clones appeared blocking off any exits. The man slowly looked back over to the blonde, "Y-You…how…this is impossible!"

Naruto crossed his arms, "Do you know why this forest is so special? Its because that the Shodaime created all of the trees here in Konoha including this forest. It also has a name, its called…The Living Forest." the wood clones attacked the man.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Mizuki screamed.

* * *

Naruto sighed and dispelled the wood clones staring at the passed out and beaten up Mizuki, "I think I took it too far, I actually made him scream."

"Naruto!" Iruka appeared along with five ANBU, "Are you okay, what was that scream?"

"It came from him," Naruto motioned over to the passed out and beaten up Mizuki impressing Iruka.

"You took him down all by yourself?" Iruka looked at the boy.

Naruto nodded, "I may have used a little psychological warfare on him first before I took him down but I think I went a little overboard." The boy saw one of the ANBU kick Mizuki in the head and sweat-dropped, _'Should the ANBU really be doing that?'_

"Naruto Uzumaki, where is the Scroll of Seals?" the cat ANBU asked.

She got her answer when a tree branch lowered itself before her and handed the scroll over to her, taking the scroll she bowed and the branch went back to the normal. Naruto simply smiled, "I get the feeling the old man would want to see me after everything that's happened tonight."

Iruka sighed with a smile, "Yes he will, but I'm just glad you're alright."

Naruto smiled at the man appreciating the concern very much, now he could only wondered how Yamato would react when he heard about what happened. He shuddered remembering Yamato's scary face, he'd really hate to be Mizuki right now.

 **Hokage Office**

Hiruzen smiled at his surrogate grandson, "Naruto, on behalf of Konoha allow me to thank you for stopping the traitor Mizuki and returning the Scroll of Seals in the process."

"There's no need to thank me, I sensed Mizuki was up to something bad and figured he'd try to get me involved in it somehow so I figured I'd deal with him now so I can get some sleep. It ma be a day off tomorrow but I'm still sleepy." He pouted making the two men laugh.

Hiruzen smiled, "Naruto, I was planning on giving this scroll to you on your 18th birthday but Mizuki ruined that so I'm giving it to you now."

"What?!" Naruto and Iruka exclaimed.

"H-Hold on Hokage-sama! I know that Naruto is responsible and all but he may not be able to handle the Scroll of Seals!" Iruka protested.

"Iruka-sensei's right! I'm a Genin and probably couldn't understand it even if I tried!" Naruto agreed.

The old man sighed, "That's where your wrong, for you see this scroll may have belonged to Hashirama Senju but the first creator and owner of the scroll belonged to the Uzukage of the once prosperous village Uzushiogakure. Ashina Uzumaki of the Uzumaki clan."

Naruto's eyes widened, "C-Clan…? I have a clan?"

Iruka was just as surprised. He had never heard of the Uzumaki clan before.

"Yes, in fact Hashirama's wife was an Uzumaki, her name was Mito Uzumaki a high sensor and the first container of-"

"The Kyūbi." Naruto finished.

Both men turned to look at him, "You know?"

"I've known since I was five years old when I first met the fox, he was really grumpy when we first met." Naruto remembered. He heard Kurama snort inside his head in amusement.

"Y-You talked to it?!" Iruka was concerned.

"Yes, and before you ask no he didn't try to hurt or kill me. He just wanted to talk because he was bored. We would talk all the time in the orphanage and he would tell me stories about a man he hated more than anything in the world." Naruto frowned.

"Who is this man?" Hiruzen wondered curiously.

"Madara Uchiha."

Hiruzen's eyes widened, "Madara Uchiha?"

"Why does the Kyūbi hate Madara?" Iruka asked.

"Because he controlled him and used him against Hashirama-ojisan." Naruto explained.

"What?! The Sharingan can control the Kyūbi?" Iruka gasped.

Naruto nodded.

Hiruzen sighed, _'I wonder…on the night of the attack was it really Madara that controlled the beast to attack the village? If that's the case then the Uchiha clan were treated like criminals for nothing which ultimately caused them to try and plan a coup which resulted in their demise.'_

"Let's not think about that right now, let's get back to what we were discussing before. Yes Naruto you have a clan, your mother Kushina Uzumaki originated from Uzushiogakure and migrated to Konoha when she was a child, she was also the Kyūbi's second container after Mito-san died." Hiruzen revealed.

"M-My mother was one too? What happened to her?" he desperately wanted to know.

"She died right after you were born, and before you say anything no you are not to blame for her death, she died to protect you just like your father did." The old man smiled sadly.

Naruto took a deep breath, "Who's my dad?"

Hiruzen closed his eyes before opening them, "The Yondaime Hokage-Minato Namikaze."

Iruka was taken back by this new information and actually looked at the blonde haired boy, _'H-He looks just like the Yondaime! How is that I've never noticed this before until now?'_

Naruto closed his eyes trying to calm down and Kurama's voice was helpful too because he was ready to start yelling but that wouldn't solve anything so he simply sighed, "Why are you telling this me now?"

The two men could hear the hint of betrayal in the boys voice making the old man flinch, "I'm sorry…Minato had a lot of enemies in both Kumo and Iwa with Iwa being the most vicious. If they found out that he had a son they would have sent assassins after you and killed you."

Naruto said nothing for a while before finally speaking, "I see…"

Hiruzen got up from the chair and the scroll to the boy who had set it down on the ground, "I know I've failed you by not telling you your origins, but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." The old man bowed taking Iruka by surprise a little bit but he couldn't help but understand why he was bowing and asking for forgiveness from the blonde.

Naruto stared the man's bowing figure for about two minutes before he sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Fine…your forgiven."

Hiruzen stood up straight in shock.

The boy smiled, "I forgive you. You were thinking about keeping me safe so I can't stay mad at you, besides it's not in my nature to hate anyone anyway."

Hiruzen smiled, "Thank you, Naruto."

"That's my line Jiji." He grinned, "And don't worry, I'll take good care of the scroll."

"Hold on there's something else I need to give you." Hiruzen walked back over to his desk and rummaged through his drawer making Naruto and Iruka curious. He pulled a black notebook bout and handed it to the boy who felt it.

"A notebook?"

"Not just any notebook either, it belonged to Minato." The old man smiled.

"Really, dad?!" Naruto was surprised and a little happy at the same time.

"That's right, he put all of his jutsu's in there and told me to pass it onto to you should something happen to him in the near future. I'm giving it you now, oh and congratulations on graduating from the Academy." He smiled grandfatherly.

Naruto had the biggest smile on his face, "Thank you!"

"Your welcome, now go home and get some sleep. You look exhausted."

"Believe me I am," he was going to pick up the scroll but Iruka got it for him, "Thanks Iruka-sensei."

"Your welcome, come on I'll walk you home."

"Fine with me."

Both of them walked out of the man's office and Hiruzen smiled, "Minato…your son will be an excellent shinobi."

* * *

Naruto had his head on his pillow with a serene smile on his face, he had parents and both of them loved him. He was really glad he had a day off tomorrow because he wanted to go back to the forest and tell it what he learned.

 ** _'_** ** _Go to sleep, kit.'_**

"I am…goodnight, Kurama." He smiled.

Kurama didn't answer but he smiled as he too drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **Next Time: Team 7 Forms.**


	4. Team 7 Forms

I think I did make Naruto a little too OP and that stops now, and once again I apologize for that and glad two reviewers pointed that out for me.

* * *

If Naruto had to guess what his major weakness is when it comes to being blind it would be that if someone were hide their presence completely he wont be able to sense it. That was what Yamato had proved when they had first started training his ability to sense as well as chakra control. He knew that if he went up against a Jonin that can hide their presence completely like Yamato can when they first tested it out then he would be in trouble and had to rely on his Shadow Clones for help. Another weakness is that for some reason he can't sense them if their on water either which is a little strange, but that was once again proven by their training sessions when they did the water exercise and he admitted that he was scared to do it the first time because he thought he'd fall but he managed to stay above the surface much to his surprise.

When he first tried the Shadow Clone technique that the forest taught him before he lost his sight he was able to do it easily compared to when he tried to use the normal Clone technique, which he still had trouble doing even now. When it comes to basic level jutsu's like the Clone technique he has a hard time doing it compared to others but when it comes to high level, say C or B-rank techniques like the Shadow Clone jutsu he has no problem doing it which is kinda crisscross but he figured that it was an Uzumaki thing since he found out he had a clan last night. Another weakness is objects. When he started to walk around after he lost his sight, he had a hard time maneuvering around objects, like rocks for example. Rocks were his enemy, so it was a good thing that he was given the long sword as a use for a cane as well as a weapon it'll come in handy in alerting him for the stupid rocks. When he first lost his sight he had to walk a little slower so he could get used to the feeling of no longer seeing and had to take it slowly. It was a miracle he even made it to where Ishida-sensei and Jiji were the first time.

When Naruto was about four years old, he had first wandered into the forest just to get away from the nasty glares of the villagers and decided t hang out there for a little while but he wasn't expecting the trees to move. The first time he saw that he freaked out and thought he was going to be killed the forest wasn't trying to harm him just say hello, which thinking back about it now made him laugh a little but then again he wasn't expecting the forest to even be alive but oh well. Since Naruto had a day off today he decided to train some more with his sword seeing as how he's still a novice at swordplay and thought that getting some more practice in would be good. He may be okay with wielding a sword but that didn't make him a master of it, no he wanted to train with it especially since the nice weapon owner gave to him as a thank you gift.

Currently Naruto was in the Hokage's office having walked directly there from his apartment with his long sword in hand, it felt really good to walk around with it plus its helpful. He noticed that the villagers weren't whispering things about him to his face like they used to, probably because he kept ignoring them since he was a kid but he could still feel some of their glares while the others simply ignored his presence. Guess it goes both ways then. He ignores them and they ignore him but they do it out of malice he does it out of boredom. Anyway, he had gotten his picture for his new ID and was now currently in the Hokage's office so he could see the picture.

Hiruzen smiled, "This looks like a good picture, Naruto."

"Thanks Jiji." Naruto smiled.

"So what do you have planned for today?"

"I was going to go to the forest to train some more, I need to work more on practicing some Kenjutsu with my sword. I'm a complete novice when it comes to sword play so I need to train." He said.

"Hmmm, well learning how to use weapons would be good for you. I know that one of Gai's Genin is also practicing some weapon skills. Its always good to keep training what you already know before you start something new. That reminds me Naruto I meant to ask you what your affinity is." Hiruzen inquired.

"It's Futon actually, but I can use Suiton too. But Katon I'm not really good at controlling, everytime I try I feel as though I'm being rejected so I left it alone." Naruto smiled.

"So Suiton is sub-affinity then?"

"Basically, I'm surprised used it well at all. I even went so far as to use the Water Dragon jutsu but that's because of the help from my shadow clones." The blonde remembered.

"You managed to do it on your first try? Impressive."

"Yeah, but it was then I realized it was just pure dumb luck because when I tried it again I couldn't maintain it for long and it soaked me. When you try something right the first time doesn't mean it'll work for you again, so I've been training nonstop to get it like last time." Naruto explained.

"I was the same when I was your age, but my struggle was Katon, but after awhile I finally got it down." Hiruzen reminisced

Naruto nodded, "Futon was just as hard too, I would sometimes cut myself trying to use some of the jutsu's. Elemental affinities are really hard."

"They are, but there are some Jounin out there with more than one and have mastered them since they were Genin." Hiruzen thought of Kakashi who has a Lightning affinity, but with the Sharingan he copies other affinities as well via jutsu's, "What about Doton?"

Naruto shrugged, "I don't really care for it, so I didn't try to use it."

"I see."

"Besides I have Mokuton, Suiton, and Futon. I don't think I need another affinity anyway."

"If that's what you want my boy."

Naruto was about to say something else when his ears picked up something. Someone was coming and approaching quickly, meaning they must be running down the halls and heading right here, "Uh, I think you have a visitor."

Before the old man could respond to that the door opened revealing a young boy with brown spiky hair, a blue scarf wrapped around his neck wearing a yellow shirt, and gray shorts, "Prepare to be defeated old man!" the boy declared running towards him with shuriken in hand only to trip on his own scarf falling right on his face.

Hiruzen sighed tiredly, this is like what the 10th time his grandson tried to attack him?

Naruto turned to the old man, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess you know this kid?"

"Yes, this is Konohamaru my grandson." The old man gave his grandson a deadpanned look at his fallen form.

"Honorable grandson!" another voice sounded and came in the room. Looks like Ebisu arrived here too the old man thought.

Ebisu saw Naruto and glared in the blonde's direction.

"There's no point in glaring at me so I'd appreciate it if you'd just stop." The blond sighed.

"Wha-!"

"And before you ask yes I'm blind, seriously how many times do I have to this?" Naruto was getting sick and tired of it. The only reason he could tell Ebisu was glaring at him was because he felt it. Konohamaru picked himself off the ground and rubbed his nose, he looked around the room before he spotted the blonde and pointed at him, "Hey you! How dare you trip me!"

"I didn't trip you, you did that all on your own kid. You should really be more careful." The blonde responded calmly.

"Show some respect to the Honorable Grandson of the Sandaime Hokage!" Ebisu growled.

"Respect is something you earn not own right's to," Naruto stated making the man look like an idiot, "Anyway, I should get going Hokage-sama." He walked right by the stunned kid and speechless Special Jounin walking out the room, closing the door behind him. Hiruzen smirked seeing the man's speechless face, not like he didn't deserve it mind you. But it was still hilarious.

* * *

Naruto walked away from the tower and headed right towards the Living Forest of Konoha, he was still surprised not that many people know that it's alive but then again the only reason he find out was because he wandered there as a child and enjoyed his stay. Maybe it was the will of the forest to not let anyone besides those it finds worthy to enter and know it's alive, but that was just a guest. He walked through some fences when he sensed he was being followed by an all too familiar presence making him stop walking, "Can I help you with something Konohamaru?"

Konohamaru peeled the concealer off from the fence with a stunned expression, "How did you know?"

"I felt you were following me, plus I have very good hearing which is both a good thing and a hassle at the same time." Naruto told him.

Konohamaru stood before him, "Wow, you really are blind but you were able to tell I was following you anyway! That is so cool!"

Naruto chuckled, he had never been called "cool" before but it was still a nice feeling, "Thanks for the compliment, now did you need something?"

Konohamaru gave him a determined look, "I want you to make me your apprentice!"

Silence.

"…What?"

"I want you to train me! I can tell your strong, and I want to beat the old man so people will see me for me!" he said.

Naruto blinked at that declaration but thinking about it he realized that the kid just wanted to be seen as the individual Konohamaru and not the title Honorable Grandson. It had to be annoying to be constantly called that title given to him by the villagers and shinobi alike just like he was constantly called Demon brat.

He sighed, "Follow me then." He walked ahead of him and the boy followed without a word.

"Hey, how did you become blind anyway? Were you born blind?" he asked out of curiosity.

"No." Naruto answered immediately.

"Then how?"

"You don't need to know."

Konohamaru pouted but let it go seeing the blonde didn't really wanna talk about it right now.

Naruto led them all the way to the Living Forest making the little boy look around in awe, "Wow…"

"Pretty amazing isn't it?"

"It is! This forest is soo huge!" Konohamaru smiled.

"You know this forest has a name."

"It does? What's it called?"

"The Living Forest."

"The Living Forest?" the boy questioned.

Naruto smiled, "I came here once when I was a kid and the trees started to move on their own as well as the branches. I was scared at first but then felt comforted almost as though someone was watching over me."

Konohamaru looked at the trees, "How come their not moving now?"

"They will, just not right now. Anyway before your start any jutsu's you need to learn Chakra control first." Naruto told him.

"Chakra control, what's that?"

"It means controlling and wielding your chakra, It's important to learn chakra control because it could end up saving your life and prevent you from getting killed in the near future." Naruto told him seriously repeating what Yamato-sensei said to him the first time.

Konohamaru gulped.

"Try to send chakra to your feet then walk up the tree with just your feet and not your hands. But make sure you focus because that's important." Naruto instructed. It felt weird for him to be telling a kid what to do about chakra control. Why did he sound like Iruka-sensei for some reason?

Konohamaru nodded and closed his eyes concentrating his chakra to his feet hoping that he was doing it right. Opening his eyes he saw his feet were had blue chakra around them, "W-Wow."

"Looks like you got it from the sound of it, okay now try walking up a tree." He told the boy.

Konohamaru walked over to the tree and slowly walked up while smiling, "I did it!" as soon as he said that he lost his concentration and started falling but Naruto caught him before he could hit the ground.

"I forgot to mention that concentration is important, so you might wanna focus more on walking on the tree than announcing you got it otherwise you'll fall like what happened just now." Naruto told him putting the boy back down on the ground.

"That was still pretty cool! Hey boss guess what!" Konohamaru grinned.

Naruto raised a brow, _'Boss?'_ he let it go and answered the boy, "Yeah?"

"Someday I wanna be Hokage so people will see me for who I am!" the boy smiled.

Naruto smiled, "Hokage, huh? Best of luck to you."

"Honorable Grandson!" Ebisu ran towards them and stopped, "What are you doing all the way out here and with this degenerate?"

 _'_ _He's really starting to get on my nerves.'_ The blonde thought.

"He's training me so that I can become Hokage someday!" Konohamaru declared.

"Young master to be Hokage you must know a variety of jutsu's," Ebisu lectured, "Besides you can learn nothing from this fool, he will only lead you to ruin."

"Talking about yourself?" Naruto tilted his head.

"What?!"

"Don't you think its down right despicable to insult a blind person? I think so, tell me something Four-Eyes how did someone like you even become a Special Jounin anyway? Seems like a waste." The blonde smirked.

Konohamaru giggled at Ebisu making the mans face turn red.

"How dare you!" he was about to approach the blonde when he felt the tree around them make noises and the leaves rustled making him stand completely still.

"Judging from your reaction you felt it didn't you?" Naruto inquired while gesturing Konohamaru to stand behind him.

"What are you talking about?"

Naruto smiled, "I think you made the forest mad. Suck to be you."

One of the tree branches moved scaring the crap out of Ebisu, "Wh-What is this?!"

"Anyone who makes the forest mad is considered their enemy, and you Ebisu have become its enemy." Naruto said charging at Ebisu until he was right in front of him and punched him hard in the gut making him double over in pain, "And by the way," he lifted up his sheathed sword, "Never underestimate a blind person." He knocked the man out but hitting him in the back of the neck with the scabbard tip.

"Geez, Jiji needs to get better Special Jounin." Naruto sighed.

"That was awesome! The trees moved! I saw it this time!" Konohamaru grinned.

"I guess it is amazing the first time, huh?" Naruto smiled, "You wanna keep training or do you wanna call it a day?"

"Let's keep training!" Konohamaru grinned.

Naruto shrugged, "Fine by me, I need to train myself."

* * *

Hiruzen watched what happened from the crystal ball and smiled. Looks like both Konohamaru and Naruto have hit it off quite well. He was glad.

"Well hopefully Konohamaru will stop with his antics from now on…hopefully."

* * *

Naruto walked inside the building of the Academy. He rested well last night, he and Konohamaru trained for what felt like hours but they did take a break to get something to eat though. While Konohamaru practiced chakra control he practiced his novice swordplay with his shadow clones, turns out he can transform his kunai into his long sword for his clone to use and help him practice with. He still hadn't read his father's journal or took a look at the Scroll of Seals, but maybe he could get through that today after the teams were formed. Yes, today he would find out if he would be on Hinata's team instead of being with Sasuke or Sakura 'The Banshee," as the kids call her and boy were they right about her being a banshee.

Walking into the classroom he went over to sit in the back of the room sitting next to the window feeling the suns rays touch his skin. Feeling the warmth of the sun on him made him have a thought, if at some point someone can manage to cure his blindness…would he even want them to? For some reason that didn't sit very well with him, if he regained his sight back would he have to put up with seeing the glares of the villagers again? Their cruel words? If that's the case then he'd rather stay blind then. He'll prove to them that even if he can't see, he can still be a strong shinobi.

He heard the door open and the kids started walking inside but he paid them no attention at all, he was waiting to sense Hinata he could care less about everyone else. Well, that's not exactly true. Shikamaru and Choji are okay, even though the shadow user was lazy he could Shikamaru was smart, smatter than him and everyone else in this room. Speaking of Shikamaru…

"Your going to sit over here, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

"Troublesome, did your hear me or sense me coming?" the lazy boy asked.

"Not telling."

"Troublesome."

Choji smiled munching on some chips, "Wonder who's teams we'll be on?"

"Hopefully not Ino or Sakura's." Naruto stated.

"Amen." Shikamaru agreed.

Choji sweat-dropped.

Naruto felt someone sit next to him and smiled, "Hey Hinata-chan."

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled, "I hope we're place on the same team together."

"You and me both." The blonde agreed. His ears then picked up something and sighed, "Damn, here they come."

Just as he said that the door was slammed opened and the two girls Ino and Sakura were pushing and shoving each other to get inside the room so they could sit next to Sasuke who was sighing in annoyance.

Naruto rubbed his temples feeling a headache coming on, "This is going to be a long day."

"Troublesome girls." Shikamaru yawned.

Iruka then came into the classroom, "Alright everyone settle down! Take your seats please!"

The kids sat down in their seats and he coughed into his fist, "Congratulations because you are all now full fledged Genin. That means we've prepared you enough to go out into the real world and be the best ninja you can be. Now then, all of you will be in groups of three for your team and when I call the team numbers I will announce who will be on that team."

"Team 1…"

Naruto tuned him out not really interested in hearing the first few teams because he wasn't interested, that is until he heard something that made him wish the earth would just swallow him up.

"Team 7 are, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki."

Sakura jumped for joy, "LOVE CONQUERS ALL!"

Naruto covered his ears and at the same time cursed his bad luck for being on the same team as the brooding Uchiha and screeching girl, "Damn." That was all he could say.

Iruka sweat-dropped when he saw Naruto's reaction and remembered how he got stuck with these two in the first place.

 ** _Flashback_**

 _Hiruzen eyed the Jounin before him, "Well, does anyone have any questions about the teams?"_

 _"_ _I do Hokage-sama," Yamato spoke up first, "Why did you choose Kakashi-sempai as the sensei for Naruto's team instead of me? I know how to work with Naruto."_

 _"_ _That's true and I agree with you, but Kakashi has the Sharingan and the only one capable of teaching Sasuke how to use his when it awakens. As for Naruto, I think its better if he's exposed to another Jounin besides you. I know he's more comfortable with you but I want him to get to know Kakashi as well." Hiruzen told him._

 _"_ _With all due respect Hokage-sama, but I highly doubt Kakashi-sempai would even know how to interact with Naruto." Yamato stated not wanting the silver haired Jounin anywhere near his surrogate little brother._

 _Kakashi who was currently reading his book looked up at the comment, "And what do you mean by that?"_

 _"_ _Exactly what I just said." Yamato responded using his scary face._

 _Sensing the tension between the two Iruka stepped in, "Both of you calm down! There's no need to start getting hostile with each other."_

 _"_ _If I may," Kurenai interjected, "I've heard that Naruto is a very capable sensor, if anything I'd like to have him on my team along with Hinata Hyūga and Shino Aburame."_

 _"_ _Now hold there Kurenai," Asuma spoke up, "Both Shikamaru and Choji are comfortable around him so I suggest he'd be on my team."_

 _"_ _Absolutely not!" Yamato crossed his arms, "Kurenai's team aside, Shikamaru is too laid back and lazy! It'll effect Naruto!"_

 _"_ _The hell is that supposed to mean?" Asuma frowned at the man._

 _"_ _And what's wrong with my team?" Kurenai narrowed her eyes._

 _Iruka felt like a small animal surrounded by large predators and turned to the Sandaime for help, the old man simply shook his head in exasperation._

 **End of Flashback**

Iruka sighed having remembered the incident, _'Well, this is something Naruto will have to deal with. Shinobi endure, and that's exactly what he has to do now.'_ He got back to reading the names, "Team 8 are, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyūga."

"Team 9…"

Hinata was heartbroken that she and Naruto weren't on the same team but they can still see each other when their not doing missions, so its still not all that bad.

"Team 10 are, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka." Iruka finished up.

Ino put her head down on the desk, how come Sakura gets to be on the same team as Sasuke and she's stuck with a lazy bum and a fatso? It just wasn't fair.

"That's it for your teammates," Iruka told them, "Now then, for Team 7's Jounin sensei it will Kakashi Hatake."

Naruto flinched when he heard that name, _'You have got to be kidding me! Yamato-sensei can't stand Kakashi-sensei and now he's the sensei for our team? This is just great.'_

"Team 8's Jounin sensei will be Kurenai Yūhi." Iruka continued.

Hinata knew Kurenai well, she came over at the compound and told her father that she would like to place her on her team in the near future. I guess she got what she wanted.

"And Team 10's Jounin sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi," Iruka finished, "Your Sensei's will come to get you in the afternoon, good luck." And like that he left the classroom.

Naruto still couldn't believe it, being put on the same team as a brooding Uchiha and a fan girl, not to mention having a Jounin sensei Yamato-sensei doesn't like very much. Someone up there must like placing him with difficult people.

 _'_ _Guess I'll just have to deal with it.'_

* * *

The blonde was on top of a desk sitting near the door this time, waiting for their sensei to show up, and its been over an hour! The other jounin's came to get their students but theirs was running late apparently, he sighed and closed his eyes leaning against his sword not even paying attention to his teammates at all. What a pain.

"So Sasuke-kun, would you like to go out on a date sometime?" Sakura asked him for what felt like the 100th time today.

He just ignored her the first few times before finally speaking and saying, "No," repeatedly hoping she'd give up but alas it was not mean to be. She kept asking and asking and his patients was starting to run real thin.

"No." he responded again.

Sakura looked saddened that he refused her offer to go out on a date again, she then looked at her other teammate and saw his eyes were closed meaning he was probably asleep. She was still trying to figure out how he even managed to pass the exam at all when he's blind. She was the first to believe he was faking and called him out on it but then he showed her his eyes and it shut her up quickly proven that he was in fact blind but the way he walked around made it seem like he could see. She remembered that at recess he would always take to sitting up on a tree branch and just fall asleep with Hinata below him and sometimes Shikamaru and Choji joined him too.

She sighed, _'But still, why did I have to be on the same team as Naruto-baka anyway? I bet it was just pure dumb luck he got the Rookie of the Year title along with Sasuke-kun.'_

Sasuke was staring at the blonde and noticed that he was fast asleep not even trying to make conversation with them, not that he cared because he didn't. There was just something about him he just couldn't figure out, how could some blonde dobe like him be his greatest challenge if he wanted to kill Itachi? He didn't dwell on it for now, if he was to be his stepping-stone into killing Itachi then so be it. He'd defeat the blonde and figure out his secrets.

Naruto opened his eyes, "Took him long enough."

Before any of his teammates could say anything the door opened and Kakashi walked inside observing his Genin team. He saw Sasuke and Sakura stare the blonde then back at him almost like they were trying to figure something out. He looked at the blonde and saw he was paying no attention to them at all and instead looking at him with a bored expression.

"Well…" Kakashi looked at them individually, "My first impression of you all is…your boring."

Sasuke scowled at him and Sakura was about to yell but Kakashi spoke first, "Meet me on the roof in 5 minutes." And like that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other then back to the door only to see Naruto was gone taking them by surprise. When did he leave?

 **Rooftop**

Kakashi arrived at the roof and pulled out a book waiting for his Genin team to arrive, about 2 minutes later the he heard footsteps and saw it was Naruto walking with a walking stick that looked like a katana in disguise. The blonde walked on the left side of the stairs and sat down, then proceeded to close his eyes.

 _'_ _Quite the antisocial one isn't he?'_ he thought. A few minutes later Sasuke and Sakura soon came and sat down on the steps both of hem giving the blonde side glances, Kakashi noticed the blonde's eyes were opened, _'Hmmm, very curious.'_

"Well now, why don't we start with the introductions? I'll go first to start us off. My name is Kakashi Hatake, my likes…well I have many likes, my dislikes as well. As for my hobbies and dreams…well you don't need to know because your too young." He smiled beneath his mask.

Naruto didn't care, Sasuke's eye twitched, and Sakura sweat-dropped, _'All he told us was his name.'_

"Alright pinkie your next."

Sakura had a tick mark on her forehead at the "pinkie" remark but answered anyway, "My name is Sakura Haruno, my likes are," she glanced at Sasuke with a blush, "My likes and hobbies are," she glanced at Sasuke again, "My dreams for the future is," she looked at Sasuke and giggled, "And the person I dislike is…NARUTO-BAKA!" she yelled.

Both Kakashi and Sasuke looked over to see the blonde's reaction. Naruto brought his hands up to his ears and took some earplugs out before putting them in his pocket and saying nothing at all. Kakashi had to stifle a laugh when he saw Sakura's reaction, he saw Sasuke sigh. He was probably thinking he should have done the same thing when it comes to her screeching. The silver haired man had to sigh though, _'Girls her age are only interested in one thing. And that's boys. I just hope this doesn't effect her performance as a kunoichi, if it does I'll have to step in.'_

"Alright, your turn now Mr. brooder."

Sasuke scowled at the man before speaking, "My name…is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't have any likes nor dislikes, my hobbies are training so that I can get stronger. My dream for the future…I'm going to restore my clan…and kill a certain someone."

There was tension after that introduction, but Sakura was giving the boy a look of adoration, _'Sasuke-kun is so cool!'_

Kakashi frowned at the boy, _'Looks like his quest for revenge hasn't changed. This could become a problem.'_ Looking over at Naruto he saw the boy had closed his eyes before opening them again making Kakashi raise a brow, _'Wonder what that was about?'_

"Okay blondie you're the last one."

Naruto didn't react to the nickname at all but spoke anyway, "Naruto Uzumaki." And that was all he said.

Silence.

Kakashi blinked, "There's nothing else you wanna add?"

"Am I supposed to? Is it required?"

"Well no, but…"

"Then who cares."

The man sweat-dropped, _'And he's the antisocial one. This could be a problem when it comes to working together as a team.'_

"Right…anyway, I want all of you to meet me tomorrow at Training Ground 7 at 6 a.m. Oh, and I suggest you not eat any breakfast. Otherwise you'll just throw it back up. And on that note see you guys tomorrow." Kakashi disappeared in a whirl of leaves leaving the three alone.

Naruto immediately stood up and walked away having something else better to do, and besides he was in no mood to hang out with his teammates today.

"Oi, dobe." Sasuke called out.

Naruto ignored him opening the door to the roof and leaving them alone making the raven-haired boy scowl at the blonde, he ignored Sakura's attempt to ask him out on a date and jumped off the roof leaving her alone before she too left.

* * *

Naruto headed towards the training area Kakashi-sensei told them to yesterday but he woke up a little earlier than the assigned meeting place. He had woken up at 5:30 instead he ate breakfast, washed up, and headed out the door on his way to the training area. Yesterday as soon as he left he headed to the forest to train, thank god Sasuke didn't try to follow him otherwise that would have been a total headache. Anyway he went there for the sole purpose of practicing his sword play wanting not to fall behind and take his training seriously after that was done he went to get some lunch and headed home to sleep early but not before tending to his plants. He realized he had a passion for gardening, and it was really relaxing too, why doesn't everybody garden to calm their nerves?

Anyway he arrived at the meeting point and didn't care what time it was but he was here and that's all that matters. He walked up the tree and laid down on the tree branch folding crossing his arms together making sure his sword was secured in his arms. Once he got into a comfortable position he drifted off to sleep.

About 25 minutes later he heard the loud voice of his female teammate wake him up.

"WAKE UP NARUTO-BAKA!" she yelled.

He opened his eyes slowly hearing the shrill of the banshee, _'_ _Seriously, does she have to scream?'_

The blonde dug his earplugs out his pockets and put them in his ears before drifting off to sleep again not hearing Sakura's yelling much to his relief. Seriously sometimes having enhanced hearing can suck sometimes

Sakura growled up at the blonde as he put earplugs in his ears and went back to sleep, _'Why that little.'_

 ** _"_** ** _CHA! Who does he think he is ignoring us like that?!" Inner Sakura yelled._**

Sasuke saw the blonde take his earplugs out putting them on and drifting back to sleep. He wondered how long the blonde had been here, more importantly how in the world did he get up there in the first place? It doesn't matter; right now he needs to focus on what Kakashi has in store of the team.

 **3 Hours Later**

Sakura was tapping her foot impatiently.

It's been 3 hours already and Kakashi-sensei still hadn't shown up! Looking over at Sasuke she saw he was just as upset as she was, looking up at the tree a tick mark formed on her forehead. Naruto was still sleeping without a care in the world.

 _'_ _Why is he still sleeping?!'_ she frowned.

Sasuke was getting impatient. Where the hell was Kakashi anyway? He was the one that told them to be here at 6 a.m. and he's not even here! Looking up at his blonde teammate he suppressed a scowl seeing he was still fast asleep.

Naruto woke up blinking a few times having gotten his nap out of the way, he stretched his aching muscles hearing some of his bones crack in the process. Looks like Yamato-sensei was right about Kakashi-sensei's tardiness to things and this was a prime example. He was curious as to why Yamato-sensei didn't get along with the man but something tells him that the wood user wouldn't tell him even if he asked anyway.

He felt another presence appear meaning that Kakashi-sensei had arrived making him sigh, _'Why do I get the feeling this will be a real pain?'_ jumping down from the tree he felt that he was standing next to Sakura, she was probably screeching at Kakashi-sensei for being late but then again he wouldn't know because he still had his earplugs in so he wouldn't hear her. He soon took them out his ears and put them back in his pockets hoping that she wouldn't scream anymore.

Kakashi smiled at the blonde under his mask doing the same thing as he did, and that was taking his own earplugs out his ears. Sasuke blinked at the action of the man, he was really starting to consider getting some earplugs like these two did.

"Now that we're all here let me explain the real reason why I gathered you three here today. And that reason is...to see if you're worthy of passing the real exam to become Genin." Kakashi told them.

"What?!" Sakura exclaimed.

Sasuke was shocked.

Naruto looked curious.

Kakashi took out two bells jingling them so Naruto could hear them, "This is now officially a survival test. And in this survival test the objective is to acquire at least one of the two bells you see in my hand. The one who fail's to get a bell will be tied to the stump and denied lunch." He saw Sasuke and Sakura hold their stomachs as they growled but he noticed Naruto's stomach didn't and raised a brow, "You ate breakfast didn't you?"

"You suggested we don't eat. You didn't say we were ordered not to, if they didn't eat breakfast then its their problem not mine." Naruto stated indifferently.

Sasuke glared at the blonde realizing he was right. Kakashi only suggested they don't eat before arriving here he didn't order them not to.

Sakura was thinking the same thing but annoyed that Naruto said it out loud and so nonchalantly.

Kakashi was taken back by the blonde's lack of concern for his teammates, _'This could really be a problem. I should talk with the Sandaime or Yamato about this.'_

"True. Anyway, back to business. Like I was saying if you fail to get a bell you get tied to the stump, and the one who didn't get a bell will fail the test and be sent back to the Academy." He finished.

"WHAT?!" Sakura screamed making Naruto cover his ears.

 _'_ _That is really irritating.'_ He rubbed his ears.

Sasuke got a determined look on his face, he would not fail this exam. He couldn't afford to fail. Not if he wanted to kill Itachi.

Naruto looked thoughtful, _'There are only two bells…there's another meaning behind this.'_

"I want you to come at me with the intent to kill." Kakashi told them seriously.

"But sensei we might hurt you." Sakura said worriedly.

 _'_ _I highly doubt we could. Catch him off guard maybe, but I doubt we'd be able to put a scratch on him. If anything he'll probably just play around with us.'_ Naruto closed his eyes as he thought this, _'Wait a minute! Maybe if we catch him off guard for a few seconds then it should be easy to get the bells from him, but we'd have to be very careful. He's not known as The Copy-Cat Ninja for nothing.'_

Kakashi put the timer down on one of the stumps, "I have the timer set. When it goes off that means the test is over. Ready, go!"

All three took off to the woods to hide.

Kakashi felt where his students were hiding, _'Well its good to know they know the basics of being stealthy. Sasuke is hiding up in a tree, Sakura is hiding in a bush, and Naruto, hm? Strange I can't seem to pinpoint his location.'_

Naruto was hiding a little bit away from his teammates and Kakashi so he could think of the real purpose of the test, he tried to suppress his chakra like Yamato-sensei taught him to and didn't know if it was working or not but he was hoping it did. He was currently in deep thought about the survival test, _'There's another reason for this test. There are only two bells meaning that only two of us will be getting them while one of us is tied to the stump but at the same time get sent back to the Academy. But that makes no sense though, he wants us to come at him with the intent to kill in order to get the bells from him,'_ his eyes widened, _'Unless…he wants us to work together as a team in order to get the bells from him! So that's it. But then again that's also a problem because those two wouldn't want to work with me at all, the emotions I felt from them confirmed it. Guess I'll just have to improvise if we want to pass the survival test.'_

* * *

Kakashi waited for one of his students to engage him while he was reading his book, about five minutes later Sasuke emerged before the Jounin, "Well now, so the first one to come at me is you. Can't say I'm surprised."

"Hmph, I'm better than those two." Sasuke said arrogantly.

"Is that so? We'll let's see about that." Kakashi humored him by putting his book away.

Sasuke charged at Kakashi sending a punch to the man's face but the silver haired Jounin merely sidestepped and grabbed the boy's wrist kicking him in the gut sending him flying away, but Sasuke maneuvered in the air and got back on the ground.

"Not bad, but not good enough." Kakashi told the boy. Sasuke then threw multiple shuriken at the Jounin who dodged them all perfectly and avoided a kick to the head by the raven-haired boy and sent the boy away from him.

When Sasuke was a good distance form the Jounin he did some hand signs that caught the man's attention: Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger.

 _'_ _What?! That's a C-rank technique that requires a lot of chakra! There's no way!'_ Kakashi thought taken by surprise.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)!" Sasuke sent a barrage of flames at the silver haired Jounin watching as the flames consumed the man. When the fire died down he saw that Kakashi was nowhere in sight making him look around, _'What? Where did go?'_

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)." Sasuke felt his ankle be grabbed by a hand from underground.

"Damn-!" he was dragged all the way underground until it was just his head sticking out.

Kakashi materialized from underground, "That was pretty impressive, using a C-rank technique like that but you're a little too hotheaded." He bent down with an eye smile.

Sasuke glared at him.

Before Kakashi could say anything else he saw four shuriken be sent right at him making him do a backflip to avoid them. When he crouched down he saw that Sasuke was no longer where he had him making the man blink, "Hmmm, it was probably Naruto that dug him out but that was pretty clever of him to distract me with the shuriken so he could get his teammate to safety. He might not be anti-social after all."

* * *

"Let go of me dobe!" Sasuke yelled.

The boy was currently being carried on his male teammates shoulder, the two of them were currently jumping from tree to tree. Naruto was taking him to a safer distance having gotten him out of a sticky situation. Naruto stopped near a big tree and dropped the boy right on the ground making him growl.

"Thanks."

Sasuke saw another Naruto jump down a tree with a walking stick in hand making his eyes widen. He looked at the one that grabbed him and dropped him on the ground, _'A Shadow Clone?! But it can see!'_

"No problem boss, what about the other one?" the clone asked.

Naruto nodded, "Go find Sakura and bring her here too, he'll probably go after her next."

"You got it." The clone jumped up a tree and went off to find Sakura while Naruto walked past Sasuke and into the clearing so he could start his plan and hoped that it worked.

"Hey, I didn't need your help!" Sasuke yelled at his retreating figure.

Naruto merely waved his hand without looking at the raven-haired boy making him clench his fists, "Just how strong are you?"

* * *

Sakura was running through the woods trying to find Sasuke after seeing her other teammate take the Uchiha heir away after distracting Kakashi-sensei by throwing shuriken.

She stopped running and looked around, "Where are they?"

Kakashi was standing on top of a tree and sighed, "Maybe a little Genjutsu will make her take her ninja training seriously."

Snake → Rat, "Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)."

Sakura saw leaves appear out of nowhere and started to feel very sleepy her eyes feeling heavy. After about a minute she felt normal again, "What was that?"

"S-Sakura…"

She looked behind her and saw Sasuke was leaning against a tree bleeding out, "H-Help me…"

Seeing Sasuke in such a state she screamed and passed out making the Jounin shake his head, "I'm surprised that's all it took to knock her out, and that was only a D-rank Genjutsu." He disappeared to go find the blonde, as soon as he left Naruto's clone appeared hefted Sakura over its shoulder and took her to where Sasuke was and if he wasn't in the same spot as before he would just lay her against a tree.

* * *

Kakashi was walking around trying to find his other student and sensed he was near the clearing so that's where he went. Walking out into the clearing he saw the blonde was leaning against a tree…asleep while holding his walking stick close to him. He nearly lost his footing when he saw the blonde was passed out sleep instead of participating in the fight with his teammates.

 _'_ _He's actually sleeping? I think it's time to show him that this isn't a game.'_ He thought seriously walking over to his lazy student intending to teach him a lesson. When he was close enough the boy's eyes snapped opened and before Kakashi could react to the fact that his student was faking the blonde unsheathed his blade and tried to slice him in half but Kakashi jumped back just in time and did several backflips to get some distance before crouching in position missing the smirk the blonde had on after he stopped with the backflips.

 _'_ _That was close. I didn't think his walking stick was a sword in disguise, pretty clever way to catch an enemy off guard.'_ Kakashi thought as he stared at the blonde who still had his sword unsheathed.

Naruto tilted his head, "Too bad. I thought I had you, but I guess not. Well you are a Jounin so its no surprise I missed."

Kakashi stood up slowly actually observing the blonde, "That was pretty clever of you to lure me out here and trying to strike me down while pretending to be asleep."

"Thanks for the compliment, I thought you'd be mad." Naruto smiled.

"Well I did say to come at me with the intent to kill," Kakashi scratched his cheek, "I just didn't think you'd actually try and do it."

"Guess I'm just full of surprises aren't I?" a voice said from behind the Jounin, turning around he saw it was another Naruto that tried to take a swipe at him with a kunai but the man jumped back and right into the real Naruto that was in a stance.

"Senkō (Flash)." Swinging his blade as fast as he could he cut the Jounin in half, he had spent days trying to create his own sword technique and finally produced some results when he cut one of his shadow clones down. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a thump that sounded like wood making his sheath the blade, _'Kawarimi, huh? I kinda figure he'd do that.'_ He gave the clone his sword and decided to stick with ninjutsu for a little while. Closing his eyes he tried to sense where his Jounin sensei might be hiding and needed to concentrate. After about a minute his eyes opened and he back flipped to avoid being pulled underground just like Sasuke. He got some distance between them and felt his clone stand beside him still holding his blade, "You should get to a safe distance."

The clone nodded and did what it was told as Kakashi appeared from underground, "Interesting, you knew where I was hiding."

Naruto's mouth twitched, "One of the perks of being blind, enhanced senses."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at that, _'So its true then. And Genjutsu has no effect on him either because he's blind, this is gonna be tough.'_

Naruto himself was thinking about what to do next, _'Should I use it here or not? I could just use some Suiton or Futon jutsu's I've been practicing but something tells me he already knows some of his own,'_ he did the Snake hand sign, _'No choice then, guess I'll have to use it.'_

Kakashi was observing the blonde carefully wanting to see what he would do, but what happened was not what he was expecting at all.

"Mokuton: Shinobigaeshi (Wood Release: Bamboo Spikes)!" bamboo spikes appeared from the ground and towards Kakashi who back flipped out the way of the bamboo spikes coming out of the ground.

He stopped the backflips and stared at the boy in complete shock, _'Th-That was Mokuton! How did he learn that?! Only Tenzo knows it! Is that why the Sandaime asked Tenzo to train Naruto?'_

Naruto waited to see what his sensei would do next, _'I need to be careful. Kakashi-sensei know many jutsu's so there's no telling what he'll use against me. It might be earth, water, wind, fire, or something else entirely. I'll have to stick with Mokuton and pray he doesn't know a lot of the techniques.'_

Kakashi did some hand signs: Tiger → Ox → Tiger → Rat, "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu)!" Kakashi expelled a large quantity of water in the form of a powerful torrent and sent it at the blonde.

Naruto quickly acted using the defensive move Yamato taught him: Rat → Dog → Tiger, "Mokuton: Mokujōheki (Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu)!" wooden pillars sprouted from the ground and covered Naruto creating a dome of protection from the water technique.

 _'_ _That was close! If I hadn't remembered that move from Yamato-sensei I would've gotten hit for sure!'_ he brought the wood dome down and sensed Kakashi was gone making his eyes widen wondering where he went until his enhance hearing heard something from behind and jumped backwards to avoid a kick to the back while still airborne he decided to use another jutsu Yamato taught him: Tiger → Horse → Tiger → Snake, "Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Giant Forest Jutsu)!" Naruto's arm transformed into branches and sent them towards Kakashi who prepared to defend against the attack.

Tiger → Hare → Boar → Dog: "Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Style: Mud Wall)!" an earth wall sprouted from the ground and blocked the wood attack making it shatter once it made contact.

Naruto landed back on the ground and stared at his sensei, _'What should I do now? Use a high level jutsu? No, if I do then I'll be too exhausted to fight back. So far I avoided being grabbed underground and kicked from behind thanks to my enhanced senses but I don't have a chance at beating Kakashi-sensei. Yamato-sensei told me many things about him, being in the ANBU when he was a little older than me as well as making Chunin. I'm just glad he's taking it easy on me right now because if he was serious then I'd be big trouble.'_

His thoughts were cut off when he heard the alarm go off making him sigh in relief and stood up straight, "Looks like the plan worked." He heard footsteps and felt it was his clone that handed him his cane/sword.

Kakashi raised a brow at the boy's words, "And what do you mean by that?"

Instead of answering he dug in his pocket and pulled out the two bells jingling them in his hand.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he moved his hand to both sides of his pants and realized that indeed he didn't have the bells strapped to him anymore, "When…?"

"It was when I was pretending to be asleep," Naruto told him, "The second you were close enough to me I used my sword to cut the bells off from the side of your pants making them fall to the ground. I picked them up and stuffed them in my pocket once I heard them fall to the ground."

Kakashi blinked at the explanation, "Then why did you engage in a fight with me if you already had the bells?"

"To distract you so you wouldn't notice the bells were gone from the side of your pants, and it worked. You didn't notice until just now." He said.

The Jounin couldn't help but feel impressed despite being outsmarted by a Genin, "I see…well done then. By the way, Sasuke, Sakura you two can come out of hiding now."

Naruto felt the urge to slap his forehead with his hand, he forgot all about them. He dispelled his clone and sighed at the fact he forgot about his own teammates but in his defense he was concentrating on fighting.

 _'_ _Maybe I should go find Yamato-sensei and ask him to spar with me again. We haven't sparred for awhile now.'_ He thought as he heard his teammates walk towards them, he felt their eyes on him but couldn't see their reactions when he used Mokuton and didn't really feel like explaining things either.

Kakashi saw the looks the two of them were giving the boy and he couldn't blame them. Naruto just used the Shodaime's famous Mokuton kekkei genkai. The only user he knew of who could use it was Tenzo but now Naruto knows it, he made a mental note to ask the man how the boy managed to use it.

"Before I determine whether you three should pass or fail, can you tell me the reason for this test?" Kakashi asked making the two of them stop looking at Naruto and looking at him instead.

"Wasn't it to test our combat strength?" Sakura questioned.

Sasuke was thinking the same thing.

Kakashi looked over at Naruto, "Well what do you think?"

"Well first off," Naruto gave one of the bells to Sasuke and the other to Sakura taking them off guard, "I thought it was strange that you only had two bells when there are only three of us, not to mention that if one of us fails to get the bells and fail the test then we _all_ fail and get sent back to the Academy."

Sasuke and Sakura froze when they heard his explanation.

"But after thinking about it, I realized that the main point of this…was for us to work together as a team and not individually." The blonde concluded.

Kakashi eyed him with a smile, "Correct."

Sasuke and Sakura looked at him in shock.

"That was the whole point of this test, and that was to work together as a team and look out for each other. And although you didn't work together as a team to attack me, you did show some signs of looking out for each other. For example, Naruto distracted me with his shuriken so he could get Sasuke to safety, and waited for me to leave to get to Sakura so he could take her to a safe location. That's what it means to lookout for one another. To not abandon your comrades." He smiled from underneath his mask, "Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. Remember that."

Naruto nodded his head, while Sasuke and Sakura looked thoughtful.

"And on that note…you all pass!" Kakashi announced.

Sakura smiled, Sasuke put his hands in his pockets closing his eyes, and Naruto simply blinked.

"You can all go home and relax for tomorrow we begin starting missions. Dismissed." Kakashi told them disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto was the first to leave wanting to get some lunch when a voice stopped him, "Hey." Sasuke called out.

Naruto stopped but didn't turn around, "What?"

"Where did you learn that?" Sasuke questioned.

"That?"

"Mokuton."

Sakura was just as curious but didn't have the courage to ask the blonde unlike Sasuke.

"You don't need to know." Naruto walked away from them. He wasn't sure why he asking about how he learned Mokuton but knew telling him would be bad.

 _'_ _I hope he doesn't make this a habit.'_

Little did he know his teammate would keep asking the same question until he got an answer.

 **Hokage Tower**

Hiruzen had Kurenai and Asuma in his office after they got done testing their students, now all they had to do was wait on Kakashi. Yamato and Iruka were there as well just waiting, in a swirl of leaves he arrived and stood on Asuma's other side, "Yo." He greeted.

"Now that your all here report." Hiruzen ordered.

Kurenai spoke first, "I, Kurenai Yūhi report that Team 8 has passed."

Asuma spoke next, "I, Asuma Sarutobi report that Team 10 has passed."

Kakashi was the last one, "I, Kakashi Hatake report that Team 7 has passed."

That took the occupants in the room by surprise but Yamato smiled proudly that Naruto passed Kakashi's test.

"Well this is rare, so which one of them figured out the true purpose of the test? Naruto or Sasuke?" Asuma asked.

"Naruto." Kakashi responded.

Yamato kept his proud smile.

"He figured out what the true purpose of the test was and it was because of him the whole team passed. Sasuke was only focused on trying to take me down trying to prove he was superior than his teammates an Sakura was only concerned about Sasuke." Kakashi reported.

Kurenai shook her head in disappointment, "That girl is a disgrace as a kunoichi."

"Hate to say it but so is Ino," Asuma agreed, "She'll only work seriously if she's put in a situation where it forces her to take her duties as a kunoichi seriously. So far only Hinata and Gai's girl are the only proper kunoichi around here."

Iruka couldn't help but sigh himself, such good talent they have. If only they weren't so obsessed with Sasuke, then the two of them would be the top kunoichi in the village but so far only Hinata and Gai's girl fit that profile.

"Naruto meanwhile distracted me so he could free Sasuke from my, "Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique), and got Sakura out of harms way when I used Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique) on her and she passed out." Kakashi continued.

Asuma snorted at the mention of Earth style jutsu he used on Sasuke, oh god he would have loved to see that. Kurenai rubbed her temples when she heard Sakura passed out after Kakashi used a simple D-rank Genjutsu on the girl. It would take something serious to wake this girl up and bring her back to reality.

"I'm not surprised," Yamato smiled, "I've been with Naruto since he was a kid and he's always put others well-being above his own."

Iruka smiled, "He does, doesn't he?"

"His Kenjutsu skills could still use some work, but I'll admit it that it caught me off guard." Kakashi admitted.

"Wait, hold a minute. You mean to tell me the kid fought you one on one?" Asuma looked at him.

"Kinda, he was distracting from the fact he got the bells from me when I let my guard down." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.

Yamato smirked making Kakashi narrow his eyes at him.

"Really? I didn't see a sword on the kid." Asuma commented.

"Its in his walking stick," Yamato told them, "It's a long sword disguised as a simple walking stick."

"That's clever and useful." Kurenai said.

"I agree," Kakashi agreed, "When I was done dealing with Sakura I found him sleeping against a tree and thought he wasn't taking the test seriously so I intended to make him see how serious the situation was, but it turns out that was a trap and when I was close enough he took a swing at me with his sword and cut the bells right off from me and engaged me one on one to make sure I didn't notice they were gone. I only noticed I didn't have them with me when the test was over."

"Losing your touch, sempai?" Yamato smiled.

Kakashi gave him a warning glare.

"So he's good at formulating plans too, huh? He and Shikamaru should get together sometime." Asuma said impressed.

"That's not all," Kakashi's tone turned serious getting their attention wondering if something else happened, "Hokage-sama…Tenzo…why didn't you tell me Naruto has the Mokuton?"

Asuma's cigarette fell out of his mouth, Kurenai's eyes went wide, and Iruka was speechless.

Yamato and Hiruzen looked at each other then back at Kakashi, "So…he used it in front of you then, did he?" Hiruzen said.

"You mean its true?!" Iruka stared at the Hokage.

Yamato narrowed his eyes at Kakashi, "I told Naruto not to use it unless the situation calls for it. What do you think the council would do if they found out he has the Mokuton?"

Kakashi closed his eye, "I see your point, but it would have been good to know."

"I don't see why you should know," Yamato countered, "I regret not telling Iruka but I see no reason why you should know at all."

Kakashi and Tenzo had electricity coming from their eyes forcing Iruka to intervene while Asuma and Kurenai watched with interest.

Hiruzen sighed, "That's enough both of you," he ordered, "Kakashi, I'm sorry for not informing you but I wanted to protect Naruto and so did Yamato so we agreed to keep it to ourselves and told Naruto to use it for emergencies only. Please try to understand."

Kakashi stared at the man, "I understand Hokage-sama."

"Good. Is there anything else you'd like to report?"

"No nothing else, sir."

"I see, then your all dismissed." Hiruzen told them.

Asuma and Kurenai left the office leaving Kakashi, Iruka, and Yamato in the office.

"I take it you'll be doing D-rank missions tomorrow then?" Yamato questioned.

"Yeah."

"Naruto won't complain about it, but I don't know about Sasuke Uchiha." Yamato frowned.

Iruka was inclined to agree.

Kakashi sighed, "You have no idea."

* * *

 **Next Time: Wave & Discovery.**


	5. Nami no Kuni

The mission to Nami no Kuni doesn't go as simple as they thought, and Naruto learns more about himself and learns the origins of his clan.

* * *

Kakashi sighed as he spoke into the receiver, "This is silver, is there any visual on the target?"

 _"_ _This is Cherry blossom, target has been spotted."_ Sakura answered

 _"_ _This is…Brooder, target has been spotted."_ Sasuke all but growled out at the stupid codename Kakashi picked out for him.

 _"_ _This is Blondie, target has been spotted."_ Naruto wondered if Kakashi was giving them these codenames just for fun. If that's the case then are they okay?

"Then…engage!" he ordered.

Sakura was the first to make a move and pounced on the cat grabbing it securely in her arms as Sasuke landed next to her, the pink haired girl saw the red bow on its ear, "Target captured. Confirmed to be the cat Tora." She missed the gleam in the cat's eye and as such was unprepared as it scratched her right in the face making her drop the cat. Sasuke tried to capture it before he too was scratched in the face by the mean cat before it took off into the bushes leaving the two Genin to rub their faces.

"That damn cat." Sasuke cursed.

"It ran into those bushes over there." Sakura said.

 ** _"_** ** _CHA! That cat's gonna pay for scratching my face!" Inner Sakura cracked her knuckles._**

 _"_ _Cherry blossom, Brooder, report. Where is the target?" Kakashi questioned over the receiver._

Sasuke answered, "Target has escaped and run off into the bushes. I repeat, target has escaped and run off into the woods. Requesting to pursue the target?"

 _"_ _Permission granted. Follow and capture the target Tora." Kakashi ordered._

The two Genin ran after the demonic feline that had the nerve to scratch their faces while also wondering what their other teammate was doing. Why wasn't he helping?

"What the hell is that dobe doing?" Sasuke growled.

"He better not be slacking off and making us do all the work." Sakura added.

Running for a little while more they stopped when they spotted the still form of the cat and were surprised to see why the cat stopped moving.

Naruto was currently scratching the cat underneath its chin making it purr in content at the contact while his shadow clone watched in amusement "Well so much for you being a little terror, huh?"

"Meow~" Tora said smiling in relaxation.

Sakura and Sasuke stared in utter disbelief. The demonic cat scratched their faces without hesitation yet it was docile with Naruto of all people! How is that even fair?

 _"_ _Report. What's going on?" Kakashi questioned._

Sasuke slowly brought his hand up to his ear, "Naruto has captured the target. I repeat, Naruto has captured the target."

 _"_ _Understood. Good work." Kakashi said._

Naruto gave his walking stick over to the clone he just created and picked the cat up slowly feeling around to make sure Tora was still in front of him. See when it comes to animals and him being blind sensing them is kinda hard because they move around a lot especially cats, so when they were given the mission to capture Tora aka "The Hell Cat," he cursed inwardly having heard horror stories from Yamato-sensei about the cat. How it runs incredibly fast and likes to scratch people's faces, so he was worried the cat would do the same to him when he and his shadow clone jumped down from the tree to cut it off, only to hear the cat "Meow" making him confused. The cat just rubbed up against his leg making him tilt his head in confusion. He thought the cat hated everybody. Slowly bending down he rubbed the cats head making it meow cutely, smiling at the acceptance he moved to scratch the cat's chin making it purr. He wondered why the cat liked him so much, but hey it made it easier to catch the cat and end the mission quickly so kill two birds with one stone.

Kakashi appeared next to his students and saw Naruto holding Tora who was completely docile and made no attempt to scratch the boy whatsoever making him blink, _'I've never seen that happen before, maybe Naruto has the ability to tame wild animals.'_

Naruto walked over to them sensing they were standing in front of him with his Shadow Clone following him and smiled, "Tora captured."

"I see that, and you've got the best time out of all the rookies," Kakashi told them, "Our best time is 2 minutes."

"Hmmm, so there's a best time to capturing Tora huh? Interesting." Naruto rubbed the cats head making it purr and snuggle in his arms making Sakura and Sasuke sent glares at the cat, still pissed off it clawed at their faces.

They were hoping bad things would happen to the damn feline.

 **Hokage Tower**

"Tora!" the Daimyo's wife yelled in happiness at seeing her cat and barreled right towards it only for the feline to hiss at her and climb on top of Naruto's head still hissing making Hiruzen smirk, Iruka to hold his mouth trying not to laugh, and Kakashi smiling in amusement. Looks like Tora prefers Naruto over his own owner.

Sasuke and Sakura still couldn't believe the cat was so attached to their blind teammate and wondered if he had some kind of special power that was controlling the damn feline.

"Tora, its me mommy! Don't you recognize me?" she asked sadly.

Tore merely hissed not wanting the woman anywhere near it making the blind sweat-drop, _'While I appreciate the affection I can't keep a cat that doesn't belong to me.'_ Slowly he moved his arms up towards his hand grabbing the cat gently and rubbed its head, "I appreciate the fact that you like me and all, but your owner was really worried about you and missed you a lot so can you please go home with her?" he couldn't see the cat's expression but he was sure that it was looking pretty sad that he had to go back to its owner and didn't struggle when Naruto held his arms out so she could take her cat back, "Here you are ma'am."

She took Tora from him with a smile, "Thank you so much young man, you have such a kind heart."

 _'_ _You have no idea.'_ Iruka and Hiruzen thought.

And with that the woman bowed towards the Hokage then thanked Team 7 before she left with the hissing cat. Sasuke and Sakura didn't even feel bad for the feline hoping the woman suffocated it to death. Naruto dispelled his shadow clone as soon as it gave him his cane back.

Hiruzen coughed into his fist, "Well done Team 7, out of all the rookies you three have the best time record when it came to capturing Tora. You should feel proud about that, the cat isn't exactly very friendly as you can see."

"And yet it was friendly towards Naruto." Kakashi smiled making the blond raise an eyebrow at the comment.

"Well then," Hiruzen took out some stacks of paper, "There are some more D-rank missions for you to take. One is to take care of some pups for the Inuzuka clan…take care of some fawn for the Nara clan-"

"Excuse me Hokage-sama but we need better missions," Sasuke interrupted, "Giving us these minuscule D-rank missions won't help us improve our skills at all."

Sakura didn't voice it but she thought the same thing as Sasuke did.

Naruto felt the urge to roll his eyes.

"Sasuke, you are a Genin that just graduated from the Academy. Your not ready to take on higher missions yet." Iruka scolded the boy not pleased he would demand a higher mission.

Naruto didn't really mind the D-rank missions at all honestly, but Sasuke ever the arrogant person he is would want to take a higher mission. For some reason he was getting a bad feeling about today and wasn't sure why. Was it because of this? Anyway, he knew Sasuke would probably pester the old man for a higher mission so he decided to just get it over with. Walking over to the desk and moving around it carefully he lowered down to whisper something in the old mans ear making sure it was low enough so no one would hear what he was about to say.

The other occupants in the room watched as Naruto whispered something in the Hokage's ear making them somewhat curious. They saw the old man's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates with whatever Naruto told him and he took out a piece of paper from his desk looking it over quickly. The blonde moved back over to his team standing next to Sasuke who like his teammate Sakura and sensei Kakashi were curious to know just what the heck did he say to the old man?

"There's an escorting mission available for all of you that's C-rank," Hiruzen told them, "Your mission is to escort the client Tazuna back to Nami no Kuni. You can come in now!"

The door opened and Naruto's nose was assaulted by the smell of alcohol coming off from the man making him frown, _'He completely reeks of alcohol.'_

Tazuna stared at the group, "Is this it?…hic…I was expecting capable ninja…hic, not some emo kid, skinny pink haired girl who looks like she hasn't worked out a day in her life, and some blonde haired brat who needs to use a cane to help him walk." As soon as he finished he was assaulted with killing intent coming from Iruka, Kakashi, and Hiruzen making him freeze in place without reaching fro his sake bottle.

"I assure you Tazuna-san, these three are fully capable of protecting you. I myself am a Jounin and are more than enough to help assist with the mission as are my students, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. You have our word." Kakashi frowned at the man not appreciating him insulting his students, especially Naruto. Though he was right about Sasuke and Sakura.

Tazuna simply nodded his head unable to speak while also wondering where he'd heard the name "Uzumaki" from, while Sasuke and Sakura were a little shaken up by the killing intent the three men in the room were sending throughout the room. The only reason Naruto didn't feel frightened was because he felt the old man's killing intent before, and it was on the day he lost his sight. Nothing scarier than a docile old man becoming vicious with a flip of a switch.

Hiruzen sighed to calm himself down, "That's all Tazuna-san you can leave now. These three will be escorting you back home tomorrow."

The man nodded and quickly left. Smart move.

"Naruto, a word please?" Hiruzen called the boy over prompting the blond to move back over to him again. As the blonde bent down the old man whispered something in his ear and the blonde responded in kind making the old man's eyes widen and bash his head on the desk, "I-I see…so it was that simple all along…?"

"Yep." Naruto nodded confusing everyone in the room.

Hiruzen sent a wave at them, "That's all, you can leave now."

Kakashi bowed and left the office right along with is students while Iruka was curious about something, "Um, Hokage-sama?"

"What is it?" he mumbled.

"What was it that you and Naruto were whispering about?" the man wondered.

Hiruzen lifted his head from the desk, "It was about the secret."

"Secret?"

"Yes, the secret to defeat my paperwork." Hiruzen brought both hands together.

"And that is…?" Iruka blinked.

Hiruzen closed his eyes before opening them dramatically, "SHADOW CLONES!"

Iruka fell over comically.

* * *

Team 7 had gathered near the gate waiting for their sensei who swore he wouldn't be late and meet them at the gate along with the client Tazuna who was also waiting.

"Is your teacher always this late?" Tazuna asked.

"He is." Sakura told him.

"Hmph." Sasuke scoffed.

Naruto simply closed his eyes.

Tazuna looked over at the blonde curiously, there was just something about his last name that seemed so familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. What was it?

"He's here." The blonde said opening his eyes.

Not long after he said that Kakashi appeared in swirl of leaves, "Yo."

"YOUR LATE!" Sakura practically screeched making Tazuna, Sasuke, Izumo, and Kotetsu cover their ears. They noticed Naruto and Kakashi hadn't covered their ears and soon found out why because both of them took earplugs out their ears causing the two Chunin to fall over comically while also thinking the same thing.

 _'_ _Why didn't we think of that?'_ The two thought.

"Right, let's get going then shall we?" Kakashi eye smiled.

They all walked through the gate and down the road until they were further away from the gate that the couldn't see it anymore. Kakashi was hanging from the back, Sakura on Tazuna's left, Sasuke on the right, and Naruto in front. It amazed him that they can come together on missions without taking notice so easily, yet when it comes to working together outside of missions they want nothing to do with each other.

As they were walking down the road Naruto noticed two chakra signatures were up ahead, but it feels like they were hidden in a form of a disguise making him wonder, _'Well its not a tree, otherwise it wouldn't be in front of us. Could be a rock or a puddle, but my guess is a puddle.'_ When he thought about it camouflaging as two puddles was pretty clever except for two things. One it hasn't rained in over a week, and two its painfully obvious. As soon they all walked past the puddles with Kakashi being the last to walk past the puddles the to ninja's hiding in the puddles acted. Kakashi found himself wrapped in chains and cut in half.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura screamed.

"That's one." one of the ninja said and went straight for Naruto cutting the blonde in half as well only to be taken by surprise because it was a log he cut up and not the real thing, "What?!"

"Senkō (Flash)." As soon as the ninja turned around Naruto who was behind him lashed the man making a very deep cut that would soon kill him if he didn't get medical treatment. The blonde felt that his sword technique had improved since the time he used it against Kakashi during their test. Thank god he practiced some more with the technique.

"You little brat!" the other ninja was kicked in the jaw by Sasuke preventing him from getting to the blonde and as soon as the man lost balance Sasuke acted quickly to finish him off, Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger: "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)!" he sent fireballs at the ninja and watched as the flames engulfed him hearing him cry out in pain before he collapsed, his body burned and unconscious.

Naruto swing his blade to the side knowing he got blood on it and sheathed it back, "You can come out of hiding now, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi jumped down from a tree he was watching from and smiled, "Ah, good job sensing me."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried out in relief.

"If you were there watching us the whole time why didn't you help?" Sasuke demanded.

"Well…I knew you could handle them and I was right," Kakashi looked over at the blonde, "Naruto good job in incapacitating your enemy, you too Sasuke. Sakura you got in front of the client to protect him, good job."

Naruto made no response to the praise and simply nodded.

Sasuke scoffed.

Sakura smiled.

The ninja that Naruto sliced was still breathing and spoke, "H-How did you know?"

"It hasn't rained in over a week that's how," Naruto stated the obvious, "That and I sensed there were two chakra signatures before us but they were using a jutsu to hide themselves from view I just couldn't figure out if it was either a rock or a puddle, but I guessed right with the puddle."

The ninja stared at the boy, "Y-You…your completely blind!"

Naruto made no comment.

"Wait, he's blind?!" Tenzo exclaimed.

"He is." Kakashi confirmed.

"But how is he able to…?"

"Its best not to think about it." The Jounin told him then glared, "Now then, I think its time you tell us what's really going on here Tazuna-san."

"Wh-What do you mean?" the man shivered.

"He means the real reason why you lied about the mission," Naruto said, "I can feel your emotions, nervousness and fear, but fear is the most strongest."

Tazuna stilled, _'H-He can feel other people's emotions?!'_

"Not to mention that these two here are the Demon Brothers of the Mist, their Chunin. I wanted to determine who they were after, seeing as how I have quite the reputation amongst the other villages and was fully prepared to intervene if I felt my students couldn't handle it, but judging by your reaction why they started to attack it confirmed they were indeed after you." He concluded.

Tazuna gulped.

"Well?" Kakashi pressured.

"O-Okay…I'll tell you the truth," Tazuna sighed, "Nami no Kuni is on the verge of financial ruin because of that rat bastard Gato."

"Gato?" Sakura questioned.

"I know that name, he's some business man that founded the Gato company. But rumor has it that he's doing something else that know one knows about. Like selling drugs and human trafficking." Naruto remembered hearing about him from one of the foreign merchants from Iron Country. He mentioned that the samurai there had caught wind of drug smuggling connected to the man and they were dealt with. In other words killed. Smuggling drugs in a town that's known for their samurai wasn't really smart on their part at all.

"Yeah, that bastard is practically sucking the life out of us. We don't have that much money and I was only able to afford a C-rank mission to send to you." Tazuna bowed, "Please help us!"

Kakashi gave the man an impassive look, "This mission just turned into an A-rank mission. This is beyond my Genin who are fresh out of the Academy. By all means we should be heading back."

Sakura agreed. They were just fresh Genin they had no experience in dealing with ninja's like these, no that wasn't true at all. Naruto and Sasuke didn't hesitate to take them down and weren't even afraid, but she was. While protecting Tazuna her legs were shaking, she didn't think she'd be forced to fight real experienced ninja so soon.

Naruto felt the urge to sigh. He knew the bad feeling he had yesterday was a sign but he ignored it and instead thought it was just him being paranoid but it looks like he was wrong.

 _'_ _Maybe next time I should listen the next time I get a bad feeling.'_ He thought.

"We not stopping Kakashi, we can still continue the mission." Sasuke spoke up.

Kakashi and Sakura looked over at the Uchiha in surprise while Naruto sighed getting their attention, "I think its a bad idea and we should head back, but Sasuke's right. Besides, we already took down the Demon Brothers which means they'll just send somebody else stronger to get the job done. Might as well finish what we've started." He couldn't believe he was agreeing to this in the first place but they took down two assassins and they'll just end up sending more regardless if they abort the mission or not.

Kakashi was surprised Naruto was agreeing with Sasuke. From the interactions he saw from the two the blonde tended to avoid Sasuke like the plague not wanting to be near him for too long which confused him. Sasuke on the other hand watched the blonde like a hawk wanting to see his every move as though trying to figure out some missing pieces of a puzzle he just couldn't figure out. It was no secret that the Uchiha considered the blonde his rival but the feeling wasn't mutual for Naruto, the blonde showed no interest whatsoever in being a rival for anyone and just wanted to be left alone. Maybe a team spar could help with things?

Sasuke was surprised the blonde agreed as well as Sakura, was he trying to be more social towards them now?

"Kakashi-sensei, what do you want to do?" Naruto asked.

The Jounin blinked then looked at his students, "Looks like my students have a point. We've already started the mission why not finish it?"

Tazuna had a grateful look on his face, "Thank you!"

"Don't thank me, thank my students." Kakashi told him.

Naruto wondered something, "What should we do about the Demon brothers? The one I hurt is starting to breath slowly."

Kakashi got a dark look in his eye, and went over to pick the burnt one next to him up hefting him over his shoulder and did the same for the other one before going off into the woods.

Sakura was confused then saw Naruto had his earplugs out again, "What are you doing?"

He didn't answer her and put them in his ears, he heard the man drag them into the forest and didn't need to hear this. Not yet anyway.

Sakura meanwhile got her answer when she heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the direction Kakashi dragged the two ninja. She felt frightened not wanting to know what her sensei could be doing to those two.

Sasuke felt his blood run cold when he heard them scream not having it in him to move.

Tazuna didn't even want to imagine what the man was doing to those two ninja and simply covered his ears.

Naruto opened his eyes back up but still kept his ears plugs in just in case, but secretly was too afraid to take them out not wanting to hear them scream. At some point he'll probably take a life himself but right now he didn't want to think about it.

* * *

Team 7 was currently taking a boat courtesy of Tazuna's friend. They had to be quiet though because they were sneaking inside Nami no Kuni without being detected.

Tazuna was sitting next the Jounin and saw that the pink haired girl and black haired boy were sitting across from them while the blonde was sitting at the end of the boat away from his teammates. What was it about this kid that bothered him so much? Was it the fact that he found out th kids was blind but could still fight? Or was it his last name? His last name…leaning closer to Kakashi he whispered in the man's ear, "Hey, that kids last name is Uzumaki, right?"

Kakashi raised a brow, "Yes…"

The man's eyes widened and looked back over to the blonde. Hair color aside, if he was truly an Uzumaki then he should be able to enter the forbidden city! Before he could think more on the subject the boat stopped and they all got out from the boat.

"Thanks old friend." Tazuna thanked.

"No problem, just take that rat bastard down for us." The boatman said rowing away.

"Let's go." Kakashi said and they all followed the Jounin staying close together especially when a fog started to settle in.

"What's with this fog?" Sakura wondered looking around.

"Not sure." Tazuna was starting to get a bad feeling.

Naruto's senses were going haywire practically screaming that something wasn't right making him grip his sword, thanks to his enhanced hearing he heard rustling in the bushes and threw a kunai in the direction where he heard it from getting everyone's attention. The blonde walked over to the noise and bent down moving his hand around trying to find what he hit and finally touched something that felt like fur and grabbed it. He rubbed the stilled animal feeling where the kunai was which was in its side, and felt around the animal a little more touching its ears feeling they were long. So it was a rabbit then. He walked back over to his team and Sakura saw the dead animal in his hand, "Naruto-baka, how could kill something so defenseless?!"

He walked right past her and towards Kakashi lifting it by its ears before him, "What color is it?"

"White."

Naruto tilted his head, "I wasn't aware rabbits fur become white in this time of season."

Kakashi eyed the rabbit carefully, "You have a point. Its normally winter season."

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other, "Oi, what are you two talking about?"

"You don't see rabbits fur like this very often in the wild, meaning this little guy was kept indoors making it domestic." Kakashi explained.

Naruto's senses were going haywire again getting his attention. He then heard a whizzing sound that was coming at them fast, "GET DOWN!" the blonde went over by his teammates yanking them to the ground while Kakashi grabbed Tazuna yanking him down on the ground with him as well. It was a good thing they got down when they did because a massive blade whizzed past their heads and embedded in the tree behind them. Not soon after that a man appeared standing on the blade.

He was a tall man that had short black hair wearing no shirt, sporting gray pants, with a white mask covering half his face. Hanging on the side of his head was a headband with the Kirigakure insignia on it.

The man laughed eerily, "No wonder the Demon Brother lost. Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja. I never thought I'd meet you here of all places, looks like this'll be fun."

Kakashi stood up as did his students and Tazuna, "Zabuza Momochi or should I say Kirigakure no Kijin (Demon of the Hidden Mist)? So you were hired to kill Tazuna as well it seems."

Naruto's eyes widened when he heard the name of the man, "Zabuza Momochi. One of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū (Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist)." No wonder this guy's chakra felt so bloodthirsty, this person was Zabuza Momochi one of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist. He remembered Yamato-sensei giving him the rundown on some Missing-Nin as well as those in the Bingo Book as part of his training to prepare him for the real world. According to him Zabuza earned the title Kirigakure no Kijin (Demon of the Hidden Mist) because he practically acted like one and he can sense it very clearly. This guy is dangerous. Going up against him would be suicidal. Its better to let Kakashi handle him.

 _'_ _First the C-rank mission becomes A-rank, now Zabuza Momochi shows up! This is just great!'_ he thought.

Zabuza grinned under his mask, "You know about me kid? Well damn, I'm honored. They teach you about me in the Academy?"

"No, personal teaching for me." Naruto told him trying to keep calm.

Zabuza jumped down from his blade and yanked it out of the tree hefting it over his shoulder, "I like you kid. Maybe I'll let you live and just kill the other two."

Naruto didn't even know how to respond to that.

"How do you know who he is?" Sasuke demanded.

"Personal education." The blonde answered.

Kakashi made a mental note to grill Yamato about teaching Naruto about stuff like this later, "You three stand back and protect Tazuna. This man is an A-rank Nukenin from Kirigakure said to have fled for the failed assassination of Mizukage. He's on a whole other level, I'll handle him."

"F-Failed to kill the Mizukage…?" Sakura was really scared now.

"We can handle him." Sasuke stated arrogantly.

 _'_ _Like hell we can!'_ Naruto thought. Was he trying to get himself killed?

"Well isn't that cute," Zabuza mocked, "The little brat thinks he's a real ninja."

"Don't mock me, I'll show you the power of the Uchiha." Sasuke glared at the man.

Zabuza laughed, "You mean that worthless clan that got their asses killed by one of their own? Yeah I'm really shaking here."

Sasuke growled and clenched his fists, the only he didn't charge at him was because Naruto gripped his shoulder tightly bringing him back to reality. Once the blonde felt he was lost some of his rage he let go of his shoulder, Sasuke may be intolerable but he didn't want him to die.

Kakashi lifted his headband making Zabuza grin, "Hoh? I get to see the Sharingan so soon? I'm flattered."

 _'_ _Sharingan?! But how?! He's not an Uchiha…is he?'_ Sasuke thought as he stared at the Jounin.

"Sharingan?" Sakura questioned.

"A dōjutsu kekkei genkai that belong to the Uchiha clan, Sakura. I'm surprised you don't know that." Naruto informed her.

She didn't even have it in her to retort because deep down she knew he was right.

Zabuza made the first move, Ox → Snake → Ram: "Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu)." A mist soon started to spread and surround them thickening quickly to the point where they couldn't see Zabuza anymore.

Naruto's sensed that the mist was filled with chakra which explains why it was so thick.

"Eight points," Zabuza's voice said eerily as though it was inhuman, "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Which one will be my point? I like them all."

Naruto felt like he was having a sensory overload with all the KI Zabuza was releasing, it was making his heart pound a little faster than normal but he was able to keep himself standing. He didn't understand why, maybe it was because he knew that if he let his guard down for even a second he could be killed and had to focus.

Sasuke was feeling the opposite of Naruto, _'W-What is this feeling?! Its so intense that its making me shake!'_ he slowly brought a hand up holding a kunai to his neck, _'It almost makes me want to end it right here and now so that I won't have to experience it anymore!_ _'_

He felt a hand on his wrist making him turn to the blonde who looked like he was concentrating to counteract the KI that was being sent their way. The blonde slowly brought his wrist down then let go without saying a word.

"Sasuke," Kakashi got the boys attention, "Don't worry, I'll protect you with my life." He turned to smile at him making him calm down completely.

"Is that so?" Zabuza appeared before the Genin and Tazuna about to swing his sword to cut them all in half but Kakashi rushed towards him burying a kunai in the man's side. When he pulled it out he saw that water was flowing out instead of blood.

 _'_ _Mizu Bunshin?'_ Naruto ad Kakashi thought at the same time. The blonde didn't see it but he heard the sound of water.

"Sensei behind you!" Sakura yelled.

Before Kakashi could turn behind him he was cut in half with Zabuza's blade, "You should never expect it to be that easy, Kakashi!" his eyes widened when he realized it was a water clone, then felt a kunai point at his throat.

"You should take your own advice, Zabuza." Kakashi said.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, _'Thank god, sensei's okay.'_

 _'_ _I can't see it but I can sense how the battle's going. Something tells me they were just getting warmed up, the real battle starts now.'_ Naruto thought.

Zabuza couldn't help but snort at the remark, "So you managed to copy my Mizu Bunshin while you made that little speech of yours in the mist, huh. Not bad."

"It's over." Kakashi said bringing the kunai closer to his neck

Zabuza chuckled darkly putting everyone on edge, "You really think I'd be beaten by a copy-cat like you?"

"Think again." Another Zabuza said from behind.

Kakashi cut the one in front of him only to reveal another water clone.

"Another clone?!" Sakura yelled.

 _'_ _Her yelling really isn't helping the situation.'_ Naruto's eyes twitched.

Zabuza kicked the Kakashi through the air making him land into the lake, Naruto hearing this turned his head in that direction, _'They moved towards water now?'_

Kakashi struggled to get up from the water, _'Why is this water so heavy? Unless-!'_

Zabuza was behind him in an instant, Snake → Ram → Horse → Hare → Ram → Horse → Hare: "Suirō no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu)." Sticking his hand out a water prison appeared around Kakashi trapping him inside.

"There's no point in trying to escape, this water's stronger than steel because of how dense the jutsu makes it," Zabuza explained, "You won't be going anywhere anytime soon." He created a Mizu Bunshin that turned its sights on the Genin and Tazuna.

"Kakashi-sensei's be captured! What do we do?!" Sakura freaked out.

"Isn't is obvious? We beat him and rescue Kakashi." Sasuke took a step forward.

"That's a bad idea." Naruto told him.

"You scared?" Sasuke taunted.

"Maybe you didn't hear me earlier when I said this guy's one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū (Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist), he's considered one of the best blade-wielding shinobi just like the others. Going up against just one is suicidal, not to mention that sword of his Kubikiribōchō (Decapitating Carving Knife) isn't just for show." Naruto practically growled trying to make him see just what kind of situation their in.

"You can't take him on! Forget about me! Take Tazuna and run to safety!" Kakashi yelled.

"Heh, doesn't matter what they do. Why don't you just sit back and watch me kill your little brats, though I might take the blonde one with me as compensation." Zabuza grinned.

Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine, _'Well this is just great, one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū (Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist) has taken a liking to me.'_

The water clone attacked, "Hisenken (Flying Turn Slash)!" it threw the sword at the Genin and Tazuna prompting Naruto to act.

Grabbing Sasuke and pulling him back he let go of his sword, Rat → Dog → Tiger, "Mokuton: Mokujōheki (Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu)!" a giant wood dome large enough to protect them all appeared and stopped the blade in its path embedding it in the wood dome before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

 _'_ _That was too close a call! If I had tried to block it with my sword, no I don't wanna even think about it. I need to think of a plan quick to get Kakashi-sensei out of that water prison, and I might need Sasuke's help while Sakura protects the client.'_ He thought.

Tazuna looked around inside the dome in amazement, "This is amazing…"

Sakura was inclined to agree but didn't say it out loud. She was just grateful that Naruto put the dome up when he did.

Sasuke remembered this jutsu, it must be a defensive one that blocks powerful jutsu's or physical attacks.

"We're gonna have to figure out a way to get Kakashi-sensei out that water prison, but we need to take that water clone down first." Naruto finally spoke having thought of a plan.

"You have something in mind?" Tazuna wondered.

Naruto stood up, "I do. It involves me and Sasuke doing most of the work though."

"Fine with me." Sasuke said.

Sakura felt a stab to the heart when he said that. Was he trying to say she was too weak to help?

"What's your plan?" Tazuna questioned.

Naruto took a deep breath, _'God I hope this works.'_

"Okay, here's what I thought of…"

Meanwhile outside the wood dome Zabuza was taken by surprise while at the same time grinning like a psychotic maniac. That jutsu the the blonde kid just used was the Mokuton! There's not a person alive who doesn't know about it! The famous kekkei genkai of the Shodaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. Hashirama Senju! He couldn't help but laugh, "You've been holding out Kakashi! One of your brats has something interesting!"

Kakashi glared at the man and was about to say something when the wood dome was brought down and Sasuke engaged the Zabuza clone going full Taijutsu on it, sending kick to its head only for it to swing the boy in the air like a rag doll but Sasuke managed to set himself right and attacked again, Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger: "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)!" he sent rapid fire balls at the clone and just when it was about to counter with a water jutsu it found itself unable to move. Looking down it saw that it was bound by wood! It looked over at Naruto.

The blonde had his hands together, "Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu (Wood Style: Silent Strangle Jutsu)."

The clone eyes widened before it was dispelled because it got hit with the fire attack sent by Sasuke.

Sasuke landed on the ground and did the same jutsu, Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger: "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)!" he sent the same fire jutsu at the real Zabuza.

Naruto was right behind him, _'This is gonna take up a lot of chakra, so I'm hoping that Kakashi-sensei is freed by then so he can take Zabuza down. I just hope I don't get too tired after I use this jutsu, I've only used it once and it wasn't how I wanted it to be but maybe it will work out this time around. Well…here goes.'_

He made the hand signs, Snake → Ram → Hare → Dog → Snake: "Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu)!" a wooden dragon appeared from underground and headed right towards Zabuza while the fire jutsu Sasuke still had going moved around it almost in sync forcing the Nukenin to drop the water prison and use his blade to cut the dragons head off while jumping away from the fireballs sent at him by Sasuke. When the attacks stopped he stared at the Genin with his blade pointed at them.

"Not bad for a bunch of brats, but not good enough." Zabuza said.

Naruto smirked getting a confused look from the ninja, "Plan…successful."

Before Zabuza could retort to that comment he found himself kicked in his side and away from the Genin. Getting his balance back on the water where he was standing on he saw Kakashi was free and finally got what the blonde brat was talking about, "Damn brat!"

"Looks like you underestimated my Genin," Kakashi said, "Its just you and me now."

Sasuke was standing by Naruto who looked a little winded but was able to stand thanks to Tazuna and surprisingly Sakura who gave him back his can to help him stay steady, "It worked…your plan really worked…." Tazuna stared.

Naruto smiled a little, "Glad it did otherwise we'd be in real trouble right now. Good job protecting Tazuna-san, Sakura."

"Y-Yeah…" she said feeling like she didn't deserve the compliment because she didn't do anything useful.

The plan was for both Sasuke and Naruto to engage the water clone first, then when that was done they were to put Zabuza in a position where he would have no choice but to lower the water prison thus freeing Kakashi. Its scary when a plan actually works, but in this case it was godsend that it did.

Zabuza was staring at the Genin, "So I got taken off guard by two brats, no," he eyed Naruto, "That one right there is something else. Hm?" he stared at the blonde a little while longer and noticed something that took him of all people by surprise.

Kakashi gave the man a warning glare, "I suggest you stop staring at him right now because this will be your last day alive."

"Heh, we'll see." Zabuza started to make hand signs, Ox → Monkey → Hare → Rat → Boar → Bird → Ox → Horse → Bird → Rat → Tiger → Dog → Tiger → Snake → Ox → Ram → Snake → Boar → Ram → Rat → Yang Water → Monkey → Bird → Dragon → Bird → Ox → Horse → Ram → Tiger → Snake → Rat → Monkey → Hare → Boar → Dragon → Ram → Rat → Ox → Monkey → Bird → Yang Water → Rat → Boar → Bird.

Kakashi saw the hand signs and copied them, Ox → Monkey → Hare → Rat → Boar → Bird → Ox → Horse → Bird → Rat → Tiger → Dog → Tiger → Snake → Ox → Ram → Snake → Boar → Ram → Rat → Yang Water → Monkey → Bird → Dragon → Bird → Ox → Horse → Ram → Tiger → Snake → Rat → Monkey → Hare → Boar → Dragon → Ram → Rat → Ox → Monkey → Bird → Yang Water → Rat → Boar → Bird.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu)!" they both yelled at the same time and two water dragons appeared with yellow eyes before attacking at the same time cancelling each other out.

"W-Wow…what a powerful jutsu!" Sakura stared.

Kakashi and Zabuza clashed with kunai and blade before Zabuza tried to use the Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu) again and saw Kakashi was following his every movement making him stop, _'It's as if he knows what I'm-'_

"Going to do next." Kakashi cut him off making Zabuza's eyes widen.

 _'_ _I-Is he reading my mind?! He's looking right at me with that-'_ his thoughts were cut off again.

"Freaky looking eye of his." Kakashi cut him off again almost as though he was reading his mind.

Zabuza wasted no time and tried to form some hand signs before he stopped his blood running cold when he saw a shadow of himself behind the Jounin, _'I-Is that me…is this a Genjutsu?!'_

Kakashi saw the hesitation and used that time to strike, Tiger → Ox → Monkey → Rabbit → Ram → Boar → Ox → Horse → Monkey → Tiger → Dog → Tiger → Snake → Tiger → Ox → Monkey → Rabbit → Bird: "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu)!" water started to swirl around the ninja.

"What?! But how?!" Zabuza didn't have time to dwell on it long because he was swept by the giant water vortex jutsu that thrashed him like some kin of ragdoll tearing through the forest, tearing down any unfortunate trees that stood in its path. The Nukenin stood up slowly as his body was soaked to the bone.

He stared at Kakashi, "You…can you see into the future…?"

"Yes," Kakashi raised a kunai up preparing to strike the defenseless Zabuza down, "And your future…is death." Before he slit the mans throat two Senbon needles struck the man in the neck making his eyes widen before slumping over dead.

Another person made themselves known, stepping out into the clearing was a young man wearing a white mask with red markings that had the symbol for Kirigakure on it. He had black hair with some of it in a white bun with two strands loose, wearing an outfit that stopped at his knees underneath a green haori with white edges and brown sash wrapped around the waist.

"You were right," The young spoke, "He's dead now."

Sakura's legs were shaking, "W-Who's that?"

"A hunter ninja from Kirigakure no Sato." Kakashi explained walking over to Zabuza while at the same time keeping an eye on the young man. Pointing two fingers to the man's neck he felt no pulse, "He's dead."

"I've been tracking down Zabuza Momochi for a long time now and found this to be a golden opportunity. And here I was starting to think I'd never be able to complete my assignment." The young man said as he picked up the dead body of Zabuza who had his blade strapped to his back. The young man bowed his head before disappearing.

Naruto felt there was something off about the guy but didn't voice it out loud. He'd wait and see if his instincts were right on this one. His ears picked up a 'thump' sound, "I think Kakashi-sensei just passed out."

Sasuke and Sakura ran over to him while Naruto walked slowly still a little exhausted from using that Wood Dragon Jutsu from earlier, he felt Tazuna was helping him walk over to his sensei which he found strange but didn't comment on it, "Tazuna-san, can you carry our sensei for us?"

"You got it kid." Tazuna bent down and picked the man up hefting him over his shoulder to keep him steady, "My house isn't that far from here, its about a half-hour. I'll take you there."

"Thanks." Naruto thanked.

 **Tazuna's House**

"Tsunami I'm home!" Tazuna announced as the Genin helped open the door and all walked inside the house. A young woman with black hair appeared from the kitchen, "Dad your home! Oh, do we have guests?"

"Yes, their the ninja that protected me on my way back here." Tazuna said, "This is Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and…Naruto Uzumaki."

Her eyes widened when he said the blonde boys last name and looked over at him. Sensing he was being stared at he spoke, "Is there something wrong?"

"N-No of course not! Please come inside! Oh, he doesn't look so good, dad take him upstairs!" Tsunami told her father. Just then a little boy with a white cap wearing green overalls walked downstairs.

"Mom, who are these people?" The boy eyed them.

"Oh Inari, these are the ninja's that helped your Jiji get here safely. Say hello." She smiled.

Inari glared at them, "Their just going to die anyway! They should just leave!" he ran back upstairs.

"Inari!" Tsunami yelled.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.

Sakura looked mad, _'Who does that brat think he is?!'_

Naruto simply sighed, "We should get Kakashi-sensei upstairs and let him sleep."

Tazuna nodded and brought the man upstairs with the three Genin following right behind him, Sasuke opened the door to the room allowing Tazuna to bring the comatose Kakashi inside and laid him down on the futon. With his students gathered around the unconscious man.

"You guys can sleep up here with him if you want…looks like he's already asleep." The man looked over at Naruto who was slumped near the window holding onto his cane passed out sleep. The man chuckled getting a blanket out from the closet and placing it around the boy.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Honestly how is he already asleep?"

"Because he and the other boy did most of the work and you didn't." Tazuna frowned at the girl.

She felt as though someone just drove a kunai to her chest a hearing the client bluntly tell her she didn't pull her own weight during this mission. While its true she protected Tazuna twice but that wasn't saying much about her abilities as a kunoichi, what would she do if those ninja's weren't taken down by Naruto and Sasuke at the time and one of them managed to slip past and come straight for her. What would she do? Stand there and be scared?

Sasuke agreed with what Tazuna said, he and Naruto were basically the only one pulling their own weight into the mission while all she did was look scared and ready to faint. Is she really even suitable at being a kunoichi? He didn't even know anymore.

* * *

The next day Kakashi woke up feeling better after getting a night's rest and wondered where his students where. He heard the door open making him look over to see who it was and saw it was Naruto who had his can in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.

"Naruto?"

"Your awake then, huh?" the blonde said walking in and making his way over to him passing him the tea, "Here, Tsunami-san made it."

Kakashi took it and took brought his mask down to drink it. It was too bad Naruto couldn't see because it would have been fun to tease him about what was underneath his mask. Having finished his tea he looked over at his student, "Where are Sasuke and Sakura?"

"Downstairs eating breakfast," Naruto told him, "When I finished mine I came up here and brought some tea for you."

"How thoughtful of you." Kakashi smiled.

"If you say so." Naruto shrugged.

The Jounin gave the blonde a serious look, "Engaging Zabuza like that was dangerous Naruto."

"Technically I didn't engage him, and besides it wasn't just me Sasuke was there helping too. The plan was to go after the clone first then try to dispel it, when that was done we were to force Zabuza's hand in freeing you from the water prison. It worked." Naruto told the Jounin casually.

Kakashi blinked, "You thought of a strategy in such a tense situation?"

"Strategy? Well I guess you can say that, but it involved me keeping calm and that wasn't exactly easy. Being blind means my senses are sharper than most and I can easily sense negative emotions in droves, like anger, hatred, jealousy, and killing intent being the worst of them all. Zabuza's killing intent was up there but being around the Old man and having felt his at full force twice I got used to feeling it, but still Zabuza's was potent enough to force Sasuke into almost taking his own life and making me just as uneasy." Naruto explained.

Kakashi sat there and stared at his student as he explained himself, _'Is he finally opening up to me?'_

"Anyway, I'm not arrogant enough to think I actually stand a chance against one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. I'm surprised we even managed to trick him into freeing you from the water prison but I doubt we'd be able to do it again." Naruto said.

Kakashi didn't miss the 'do it again' part of the sentence and was about to ask when Sasuke and Sakura walked in, when they saw their sensei was awake they were relieved though Sasuke will try to deny it.

"Kakashi-sensei, your awake!" Sakura was relieved to see he was okay and sat down near the futon. Sasuke sat on the other side.

"I'm doing just fine, just needed some sleep is all." Kakashi smiled at his two students before his face became serious, "Now since your all here, I feel you should know that Zabuza is still alive."

"What?!" Sakura yelled.

Sasuke looked eager to go up against Zabuza again, and Naruto had his suspicions when he felt some chakra flow sill going on in Zabuza.

"H-How do you know?" Sakura questioned hoping he was wrong.

Kakashi looked over at Naruto, "Did you sense he was still alive even though he wasn't breathing anymore?"

Naruto nodded, "I still felt some signs of life in Zabuza even though you said he was no longer breathing. What was the weapon that Hunter-nin used?"

"Senbon."

"Yeah, he's still alive."

"What are you two talking about?" Sasuke questioned.

"My mentor told me that Senbon needles put you in a death like state if used in the right hands especially if you get hit in the neck with them." Naruto explained what Yamato-sensei said when it came to working with different weapons.

"That's right, it didn't even occur to me at the time because I was low on chakra and exhausted. Another red flag is that Hunter-nin dispose of the body by burning it, so there's nothing left. This one simply took Zabuza's body along with him as he disappeared." Kakashi stated.

The three Genin took the time to process what they were told, "How long do you think it'll take for Zabuza to come back for a rematch?"

"I'd say about a week, which means you three need to train and guard Tazuna during the week we have to prepare." Kakashi told them seriously.

Naruto didn't mind the training because he was thinking about doing some training himself while he was here. His sword skills could still need some work.

* * *

Zabuza opened his eyes slowly and saw the face of his partner, "Did you have to stick them in my neck, Haku?"

Haku merely chuckled, "My apologies Zabuza-sama, but I believe it was the smartest move to make in you current situation."

He closed his eyes, "You saw right?"

"Yes, the blonde one's kekkei genkai took me by surprise. I was told that no one in the village showed any signs of having it since the death of their Shodaime, so I was surprised." Haku expressed.

"Yeah. But that's not all I discovered about the brat…he's completely blind." He told the boy.

Haku's eyes widened, "Blind? But he didn't act as though he was."

"No shit. Back when I was still with the Seven Swordsmen there was a blind samurai from the Land of Iron that gave us a run for our money. There were mist ninja with us at the time, but that didn't matter to the guy. Killed every last one of them in one single sword strike, first time in my life I've been scared of someone. A blind samurai is dangerous, but a blind ninja is a beast."

"I see…so he's our biggest threat then?" Haku asked.

"Yeah, but I still like the kid." Zabuza admitted.

Haku couldn't help but smile.

The door opened and in came Gato along with two thugs, "Well well, look at this? So this is what the famous Demon of the Mist had been reduced to?" he walked over to the bed about to touch him when Haku grabbed his wrist squeezing it tightly.

Haku glared at the man, "Keep your filthy hands off of him." Letting the man's wrist go.

Gato rubbed his swore wrist, "Just get the job done or else!" he walked out along with his two guards.

Zabuza opened his eyes, "I'll be getting rid of that fat pig soon."

"I'll be sure to help assist when that time comes." Haku said.

* * *

Kakashi had them outside where they were surrounded by trees, for some reason Naruto felt at peace here as soon as they came to Nami no Kuni. He couldn't explain it but the feeling was not unwelcomed.

"Okay, for training today I'm gong to teach how to tree climb." Kakashi smiled.

Naruto's lips twitched in amusement because he already knew it, but Sasuke and Sakura were confused.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei we already know how to climb trees." Sakura was confused.

Kakashi gave her an amused look, "I didn't mean with your hands." He demonstrated by going over to a tree and walking up on it with just his feet and hung upside down, "I meant like this."

Sasuke and Sakura couldn't believe it! They never learned that in the Academy!

Kakashi jumped down, "Alright, your turn to try."

The three of them got to work and started walking up the tree, Sakura and Naruto had no problems what with the blonde having done it before with Yamato but Sasuke had a hard time and fell due to poor chakra control.

"Well, it seems Naruto and Sakura have it down. Keep trying Sasuke." Kakashi said.

"You can do it, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cheered hoping he didn't hate her for being able to do it.

Naruto simply jumped down and walked away much to the confusion of his team, "Going somewhere Naruto?"

"Don't worry about it." Naruto said still walking away.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, try as he might he just couldn't figure out what goes on inside his head, _'How does Tenzo do it?'_

Naruto had no reason to stay because he already knew how to do the tree climbing exercise anyway, so he simply went to back to Tazuna's place but he felt the man coming to him instead making him stop, "Tazuna-san?"

"There you are!" Tazuna stopped running to catch his breath, "There's a place I want to take you to."

"A place?" the blonde tilted his head in confusion.

"That's right." Tazuna said.

 **Earlier**

"So his last name really is Uzumaki?" Tsunami asked just to be sure.

"No doubt about it, his sensei confirmed it when I asked him. He could be one of them." Tazuna told her.

"But his hair color's different."

"That doesn't matter! We finally have one of them here, if this works then tis proves their clan still lives through him." Tazuna said with determination.

Tsunami thought about it then nodded her head, "Okay, take him straight to the temple understand?"

"Got it." Tazuna nodded.

 **Now**

Tazuna was leading Naruto towards the temple but the blonde was unaware of this and just simply followed the man without question. Naruto was curious as to where they were going though and why he only wanted just him and not his whole team but it must be something important if he only wanted him to come.

Tazuna lead the blonde towards the temple that was left by them all those years ago, believe it or not but Nami no Kuni and Uzu no Kuni were trading partners until their village was destroyed. He saw the looks of the people and gave them a nod towards the blonde making them stop what they were doing and look at the blonde with slight hope in their eyes. He was hopeful himself hoping that he wasn't wrong. They stopped at a temple that had a moon and sun symbol on it.

Naruto was feeling a pull as soon as they stopped and couldn't figure out why, "Tazuna-san, where are we?"

"We're at a temple that was created here a long time ago but it was said that only the one to inherit all of Ninshū in a past life will be able to enter and bring peace to the world." Tazuna explained.

Naruto didn't understand what that meant at all but found his body moving all on its own towards the temple, as soon as he walked through the pillars he disappeared before Tazuna making the mans eyes widen, "It worked…it worked! He's the one!"

* * *

Naruto felt something was different, "Tazuna-san? Tazuna-san?" he didn't hear from the old man and started to get on the defensive when a voice stopped him.

 _"_ _Stay calm and walk ahead of you."_ The voice instructed sounding like a male.

Naruto froze when he inched for his sword, "W-Who?"

 ** _"_** ** _Calm down, kit. Walk forward like the voice told you to."_** He heard Kurama's voice told him calmly.

Naruto was still a little skeptical but listened to Kurama and walked forward like he was told.

 _"_ _Keep going straight ahead. I'll tell you when to stop."_

Naruto frowned, _'What's going on? And why does this voice sound familiar as though I've heard it before?'_

 _"_ _Stop."_

Naruto stopped walking and listened to what I was going to tell him next.

 _"_ _There are stairs before you, so walk carefully."_

The blonde walked slowly feeling the urge to count the steps but didn't because of his current situation. He felt that he on top of the stairs and listened to what he should do next.

 _"_ _Walk forward and touch the statue before you."_

Naruto walked forward moving his hand around to feel a statue that supposed to be in front of him, as soon as he touched something that felt like stone he felt pain shoot through his head causing him to cry out in pain. He felt images that didn't belong to him but someone else.

 _A man with two horns on his head standing before two children. One with short spikey brown hair. Another with long brown hair._

 _The God Tree._

 _Being named the inheritor of Ninshū, seeing the jealous rage of the person sitting next to him._

 _The death of the man that named him the inheritor of Ninshū._

 _A battle between the two males that nearly ended in death. A feud that's lasted through centuries._

 _Asura and Indra Ōtsutsuki._

Having received to much information he passed out unaware of his body glowing white.

* * *

Figures wearing black hoods felt a warm and strong power radiating from somewhere and knew what it meant.

"Do you feel that?"

"Yes, the prophecy has been made true. The Uzumaki we've spent years waiting for has awakened."

"Then!"

The leader nodded seriously, "Yes…we must find that Uzumaki."

* * *

 **Mindscape**

Naruto felt comfortable.

He wasn't sure why though, but it felt like he was laying on something nice and warm and snuggled into it but froze when he heard it chuckle. Getting up quickly had scampered away from whatever he was laying on, "W-Who are you?!"

He heard the person chuckle again, "There's no need to be afraid Naruto. You saw my memories, so you know who I am."

The blonde blinked then relaxed but was still slightly confused, "Asura…Asura Ōtsutsuki…?"

Asura smiled, "Yep. Nice to meet you."

"L-Likewise." He stuttered.

Asura chuckled, "There's no need to be nervous around me. We are one in the same after all."

Naruto was confused until he remembered something, "A feud that's lasted through centuries…so your saying that I'm you and your me?"

Asura nodded, "That's right. The last reincarnation of me came in the form your first Hokage, Hashirama Senju."

"What?! I didn't know that!" Naruto said.

"Not most would, not even the Senju or Uzumaki clan knew why there was so much bad blood between them and the Uchiha clan, but mostly the Senju and Uchiha." Asura explained.

"So its true then…my clan really doe exist." Naruto said, "Wait, this feud that started between the Senju and Uchiha was because of you and-"

"Indra," Asura said sadly, "My older brother. He made the Uchiha clan while I created both the Senju and Uzumaki clan, though your clan mostly had red hair making you the exception because of who your father is."

Naruto didn't even know what to feel or say right now but found the will to speak, "So…the Uzumaki clan and Senju clan are related?"

"Yes, both clans became related to each other by blood because of the marriage between both Mito Uzumaki and Hashirama Senju. Both clans are my descendants, while the Uchiha's are Indra's descendants." He explained.

"No way…so I'm related to Hashirama Senju?" Naruto questioned.

"You are."

Naruto smiled having found out he was related to the First Hokage but there was something else he wanted to ask, "So your brother Indra created the Uchiha clan meaning he was the first person to have the Sharingan?"

"Technically father had the Sharingan, brother simply inherited it from him," Asura smiled, "But yes, he created the clan and I'm afraid he the clan was made to believe that power was everything instead of bonds."

"Bonds?"

"Naruto, no matter what anyone else says bonds are important." Asura smiled having remembered his friends and his family.

Naruto blinked, "Bonds…" he thought of Yamato, Hinata, Hokage-jiji, Iruka, Konohamaru, Teuchi, and Ayame. They were his bonds.

Asura smiled then frowned moving forward touching the boys face making him jump at the contact, "I saw what has happened in your life from your childhood all the way up to now. Your sight was stolen by a villager who knew no better, you were forced to live in the dark without the light but it didn't get your spirits down, you were taunted by the villagers forced to listen to their cruel words but you ignored them. They then ignored your existence but that didn't bother you at all because of the bonds you have with those around you. Your heart was in pain and though it has lessened the pain still remains. You don't see Kurama as the incarnation of evil and gained both his trust and loyalty."

Naruto was taken back, "Y-You…how do you know about Kurama?"

Asura smiled, "I know Kurama because he is my brother as well as the rest of the Bijū."

"Bijū? There are more of them out there?" Naruto questioned.

Kurama then decided to make his presence known, **"That's right, I never expected to see you inside Naruto yet here you are…Asura."**

Asura smiled, "Call me brother Kurama. We are family after all."

Kurama blushed and looked away.

"What?" Naruto was confused.

"My father Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki created the Bijū to prevent the Jūbi from being whole again, however he would be saddened to see them like this. Captured and used as weapons when that's not what they are. They are living beings just like the rest of us." Asura frowned.

Naruto felt the same as Asura, when he first met Kurama he was surprised but then intrigued that something so big was inside of him, "I don't see Kurama as something bad. When I first Kurama I was surprised but then kinda happy because I finally had someone to talk to after being alone for so long, Kurama tells the best stories."

Good thing Kurama's fur is orange otherwise they'd be able to see the blush that was on his face.

Asura smiled, "I know, you two have looked out for each other. You even created this beautiful landscape for him inside your mind. You are truly kind, it's a shame the people of your village can't see that."

"There are a few who do, so its fine. But I have a question, does the Mokuton originate from you?" he wondered.

"Actually yes it does, I was the first to use it, then Hashirama, and now you." Asura smiled.

"Were you able to hear the voices of the trees and did they move or grow when you were around?" Naruto questioned.

"Now that you mention it, that did happen a few times." Asura recalled.

 _'_ _So it passes on from each reincarnation, meaning the Shodaime could do it to.'_ The blonde thought.

"Naruto, since you have Kurama sealed inside you I want to tell you about the rest of my imprisoned siblings." Asura told him.

Naruto nodded.

"There's the Ichibi-Shukaku, Nibi-Matatabi, Sanbi-Isobu, Yonbi-Son Gokū, Gobi- Kokuō, Rokubi-Saiken, Nanabi-Chōmei, and Hachibi-Gyūki." He named his siblings and tails.

"With Kurama the Kyūbi that makes all nine, but you mentioned the Jūbi. Is it dangerous?" Naruto questioned.

Asura gave him a serious look, "The Jūbi is a representation of my grandmother, Kagura Ōtsutsuki. My father became its first Jinchūriki and split its chakra into nine pieces so it would cause no further harm."

 _'_ _Those nine pieces were Kurama and his siblings.'_ Naruto thought.

"The Jūbi's power was very dangerous, that's why father and uncle sealed it away and hoped that it would never return again." Asura said.

"Uncle?"

"Hamura Ōtsutsuki, he held the Byakugan." Asura said.

"Then he's Hinata-chan's ancestor!" Naruto said in total shock.

Asura nodded, "Naruto, I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"I want you and Kurama to grow stronger together."

Naruto and Kurama blinked, "Eh…?"

The man laughed, "Well, a Jinchūriki is able to use a portion of their Bijū's chakra but I want you to have full control over Kurama's chakra for I believe in the near future you will need it."

"Is that…even possible?" Naruto looked over at Kurama.

 **"** **It is,"** Kurama stared at the blonde then at Asura, **"I don't have a very high opinion of humans after they basically butchered father's teachings and stole Naruto's sight. But, I'll help Naruto with whatever he needs of me. I already gave him my name, that proves I trust him."**

"Kurama…" Naruto stared at the fox.

Kurama grinned.

Asura smiled at their interaction, "When you feel like your ready to try and sync with each other then come back here to the temple, oh and before I forget. Since you have all of my memories stored within you now your able to use some of my abilities."

"I am?"

Asura nodded, "Your major affinity is "Wind," but being my reincarnation and me awakening within you, you now have "Yōton (Yang Release)."

"Yōton (Yang Release)?"

"Its physical energy that governs vitality able to breath life into form. I know you cant see it but you have a sun symbol for Yōton on your right palm. Being my descendant you've had the ability to use it, it just wasn't awakened until now." Asura mentioned.

"I-I see."

"You are also a Sensory type and since you and Kurama already have a bond between you two you can sense the negative emotions of others, and since you're a sensor that means you have the Kanchi no Jutsu (Sensory Jutsu)."

 _'_ _Well that explains how I can sense a person's chakra despite being blind.'_ The blonde thought.

"Anything else?" Naruto asked.

"Hmmm, I'll tell you when you come here and train to use Kurama's chakra." Asura smiled.

Naruto and Kurama sweat-dropped, _'Your too carefree.'_

"I should send you back and you should wake up now," Asura rubbed the boy's head, "I'll see you soon, Naruto."

There was a bright light that blinded everything.

* * *

Naruto woke up and felt like he had a headache but the pain left just as quickly, feeling around for his cane he found it was right next to him and grabbed it. Standing up slowly he wondered which way to go to leave.

 _"_ _I'll give you directions Naruto." Asura smiled._

"Your still here?" Naruto said in surprise.

 _"_ _Of course. I know you can get around on your own just fine but I still like to be helpful." Asura grinned._

Naruto couldn't help but smiled himself, "Tell me where to go then."

* * *

Naruto was finally out of the temple and sensed a crowed before him making him raise a brow, "Am I surrounded by people or is that just my imagination?" he felt a slap on the back.

"No imagination kid! Looks like I was right, you're an Uzumaki of the Uzumaki clan!" Tazuna grinned as the citizens smiled and cheered.

"So you know of the Uzumaki clan then? I didn't know that." Naruto was surprised.

"Yeah, back when they still had a village we did some trading with Uzu no Kuni and a few of the members of the Uzumaki clan gave built us this temple along with a prophecy attached to it." Tazuna explained.

"Prophecy?"

"The one who bears the will of the chosen inheritor of Ninshū will bring peace to the world." Tazuna recited.

 _'_ _So it was basically designed for Asura's reincarnation which just so happens to be me.'_ Naruto thought.

 _"_ _Looks that way."_ Asura said.

 _'_ _I take it you didn't write this prophecy?'_

 _"_ _No, I wonder who did…"_

 _'_ _We'll think about that later, we should head back to the house. I'm getting hungry.'_

 _"_ _Agreed."_

Naruto and Tazuna walked back to the house with the man sporting a huge smile on his face probably because he was right about Naruto being an Uzumaki. Opening the door to the house Tazuna gave Tsunami a peace sign making her smile grow and she practically dragged Naruto towards the table sitting him down and placing his food before him still smiling.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke were confused as to what happened. They came back to the house and Tsunami told them that her father needed to see Naruto for something important and that she couldn't tell them. Waiting at the house for about an hour the two finally walked in, Kakashi didn't know why but it felt like the aura around Naruto had changed somewhat. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Where did you two go?" Kakashi questioned.

Naruto didn't say anything at first then spoke, "Nowhere important. Just walked around and talked, that's all."

 _"_ _Your not going to tell him?" Asura questioned._

 _'_ _Me and Kakashi-sensei aren't that close.'_

 _"_ _I see."_

Tsunami came into the kitchen and smiled, "So how did your training go? Are you making any progress?"

Kakashi answered, "Sakura has the tree climbing technique down, and Sasuke finally got it after a few tries," he looked over at Naruto, "I'm surprised you got it that quickly Naruto."

"That's because I already know how to do the tree climbing exercise. I've been able to do it since I was five." Naruto told him.

Sasuke clenched his teacup in anger.

"I see."

Naruto got to eating wanting to end this conversation because he could sense Sasuke's emotions and thought it be best not to speak anymore. He didn't even flinch or stop eating when he heard someone slam their hands on the table.

 _'_ _Probably Inari.'_ The blonde thought still eating.

"Why do you all bother anyway?! Your just gonna die! Gato's strong, there's no way you can beat him!" Inari yelled.

Sasuke's patience with this kid was wearing really thin, and Sakura was frowning at him. Just what was this kids problem? Kakashi brought his book out ignoring the kid wanting to see how his students would handle the situation. Inari then turned his attention to Naruto who was still eating and glared, "And you! Just looking at you makes me sick! Why do you even bother training when you cant even see?! What can a blind person do anyway?! You have no idea what we've suffered so stop trying to be a hero already!"

Everyone tensed at what Naruto would do. But to their surprise he simply stood up grabbing his dishes and walked over to the kitchen and washed his dishes before putting them away. He then came back and grabbed his cane before turning towards Tsunami, "Thank you for the food. It was very good." He smiled.

"Y-Your welcome."

Inari was about to tell him off again but Naruto shut him up, "Your weak." The blonde stated to the boy shutting him up, "Your weak, but your grandfather and mother are strong because they've had enough of Gato's reign over this land and want it to end, that's why their fighting back. Their tired of being afraid, but your still stuck in your fear and let it control you."

Inari couldn't say anything back.

"If you don't believe in heroes that's fine, but don't try to sway other people's opinions just because your scared. We're ninja's meaning that we're not scared of some coward like Gato who hides behind strong people because he himself is weak," Naruto stated calmly, "And by the way, just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm incapable of doing basic things, like walking, cooking, sleeping, and eating. I can still function like a normal person, still fight like a normal ninja as well, and can move around just fine as you just saw."

He's right. They still didn't understand why that worked but it was best not to ask.

"And what you've suffered? Hate to break to you kid but ninja have it far worse than you do. We lose everything before we even start to grow into adults, someone like you who wouldn't know the first thing about suffering has no right to compare himself to anyone. Everyone suffers tragedy in their life, its not just you. Someone like you knows nothing about us at all, so don't act like you know everything because you don't. If you hate the outside world so much then lock yourself in your room for all eternity and never come out and let the brave people who aren't afraid to appreciate what they have in life or stand up for themselves because they've had enough handle everything while you stay and remain a coward until the day you die." Naruto opened the door and walked out deciding to sleep outside instead of inside the house.

Inari had tears streaming down his eyes but his grandfather Tazuna showed no sympathy towards the boy because he was tired of this behavior for a long time now, "He's right Inari. Your father wasn't afraid to stand up to Gato and called him out on it, and although it got him killed in the end he still proved that there are people in the world that can stand up to people like Gato. I'm not scared of Gato and won't let him have his way with this land anymore."

Inari said nothing and simply ran upstairs still crying. Tsunami looked over at her father, "Do you think he'll take what you said to heart?"

Tazuna shrugged.

"Um, excuse me. Who are you two talking about?" Sakura questioned.

"Inari's father, he was the first person to stand up to Gato, calling him out on all his bullshit. Gato didn't appreciate that and had him publicly executed and made us all watch, including Inari." Tazuna explained.

Sakura was disgusted that Gato could do such a thing.

"Ever since then, Inari sees the world in black and white. But…his father wouldn't want him to think that its fine to just give up and let people walk all over you. I'm glad Naruto said what I've been trying to say for awhile now," Tazuna looked at Kakashi, "Now that I think about it, how did he lose his sight anyway? Was he born blind?"

Kakashi closed his eye, "No, up until he was five years old he could see just fine."

"He lost his sight at five years old?" Tsunami gasped.

"How did it happen?" Tazuna asked curiously.

Sasuke and Sakura were curious to know themselves.

Kakashi opened his eye and looked away from them, "Its best you don't know how. Not until he's ready to tell you himself."

Everyone in the room didn't pester him about it anymore knowing that it probably wasn't very pleasant to talk about.

* * *

Haku wandered through the woods looking for some herbs but instead he saw the blonde Zabuza talked about sleeping upright on a tree holding his cane in hand, but that's not all he saw. The blonde was surrounded by plants and two birds were perched on his each shoulder that Haku couldn't help but feel mesmerized. He walked over and simply stared at the sleeping blonde fascinated about how he was able to sleep like this and feel completely at ease.

"Can I help you with something?" Naruto spoke making Haku flinch.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Haku apologized.

"It's fine," Naruto yawned as he opened his eyes, "I woke up as soon as I sensed I was being watched. I just wanted to see what you'd do."

Haku was staring at his eyes, _'Zabuza-sama was right. He really is blind. I didn't notice it before when I rescued Zabuza-sama but looking more closely I see that he really can't see, yet he was able to sense my presence.'_

Naruto stretched his arms above his head making the two birds fly up before landing on his shoulder again as he stopped stretching, "Am I wrong or do I feel two presences on my shoulders?"

Haku chuckled, "Your not imagining it. There are two birds perched on your shoulders. They seem to feel at ease around you, as though you're the sun that shines brightly within the dark."

Naruto thought of the mark on his right palm. Asura didn't exactly explain he'd be given the ability to attract birds. He made a mental note to ask for an explanation later.

"Sun, huh?" Naruto did feel the suns rays on his face, that might have been the second bad thing about being blind. The first was never being able to see Hinata's face, the second was this. Before he went blind he loved looking up at the sky, feeling the suns rays on his face and watching the blue sky. Now all he sees is pitch black and nothing else.

"If you don't mind me asking, why were you sleeping out here all by yourself?" Haku wondered.

"I like sleeping outside," Naruto answered, "It doesn't happen often but when it does I take full advantage of it. Why are you out here?"

Haku showed him his basket, "I was looking for some herbs to help my friend. He's not feeling very well."

"I see." Naruto said.

Haku smiled, "I'm Haku. What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Haku didn't show his surprised face openly but it was a different story inwardly. He's an Uzumaki? But his hair color's different.

"It's nice to meet you," Haku smiled, "By the way Naruto-san, do you have someone who's precious to you?"

Naruto blinked at the question but answered, "I do. Several people actually. I keep them very close to my heart because I want to protect them."

Haku smiled, "Do you have a dream?"

Dream? Does he have such a thing? He thought about it for a while before answering, "My dream…is to become someone that protects his loved ones."

Haku stood up with a smile on his face, "Then…don't let go of that dream." He walked away from the blonde.

"Wait."

Haku stopped, "Hm?"

"You…you're a boy aren't you?" he deadpanned.

Haku couldn't stop his fit of laughter. So he did notice.

* * *

Haku stepped in Zabuza's room and saw the man was sitting up on the bed, "You went to see the kid, huh?"

"Yes I did, he's very interesting."

Zabuza smirked, "Told ya."

"He figured out I was a boy and not a girl even though he couldn't see, also…he's an Uzumaki." Haku said seriously.

Zabuza gave Haku his own serious look, "You sure about that?"

"He said his full name. Naruto Uzumaki, the hair color may be different, but I can sense he is definitely an Uzumaki." Haku confirmed.

Zabuza closed his eyes, "Once we've taken out Gato we'll take the kid with us. His village is too weak to go up against _them_."

"Indeed."

* * *

Naruto was currently guarding Tazuna and using his Shadow Clone to help with the construction of the bridge. Ever since the whole temple fiasco and proving that he was indeed an Uzumaki the whole town saw the blonde as a beacon of hope that they longed for. The workers worked their buts off to help and make sure the bridge was finished.

Sasuke and Sakura also took turns in guarding Tazuna and his family, while doing that their thoughts were focused on their blind teammate and how they truly knew nothing about him at all, or how he became blind in the first place. Naruto didn't try to bond with them in the first place that's true but still…weren't they a team?

Before they knew it a week had past and that meant Zabuza would be here soon along with his accomplice.

Sakura was charged with protecting Tazuna, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Naruto were charged with taking the offensive. Kakashi will fight Zabuza, while Sasuke and Naruto fight the man's accomplice. All of them were currently at the bridge waiting for the confrontation, Naruto had a feeling that Gato would try to target Tazuna's family so he had two Shadow Clones guarding the house, one inside to protect Tsunami and Inari while the other one stayed outside the house to guard it.

A mist soon came into view covering the bridge but not completely, two figures appeared from the mist and everyone was on guard. Kakashi had his Sharingan active while the Genin got ready to do their assigned jobs.

Zabuza hefted his sword Kubikiribōchō over his shoulder, "Yo Kakashi, ready for round two?"

"It won't go as last time." Kakashi told him.

Zabuza looked over at Haku who looked at him giving the boy a silent order, _"Remember. Try and see if you can persuade the blonde to come with us, if not paralyze him and we'll take off."_

 _"_ _Understood."_ Haku nodded.

Kakashi didn't miss the exchange and suddenly got a bad feeling. He remembered that Zabuza had taken an interest in the blonde and didn't like it at all.

Naruto eyed the boy with Zabuza and sure enough it was the same hunter-nin from before. So Kakashi was right, the guy was really working for Zabuza after all. He had a feeling he knew the boy too.

 _"_ _Be careful Naruto." Asura warned._

 _'_ _I know.'_

"Deal with the Uchiha brat and Uzumaki kid." Zabuza ordered Haku who nodded.

Kakashi's blood ran cold, "How do you know about Naruto?!"

"Heh, did you morons really think you could hide the kid forever? Sooner or later someone was bound to find out about him." Zabuza pointed his blade and the Jounin, "Let's make a wager, Kakashi. I've lost interest in the bridge builder, if you lose against me the Uzumaki kid comes with me. Even your no match for _them_. They've probably already sensed him since he's an Uzumaki."

"Them?" Kakashi questioned.

Sasuke and Sakura wondered what was so special about the name 'Uzumaki?' and why was Zabuza so interested in taking Naruto with him?

Haku wasted no time in attacking throwing Senbon needles at the two Naruto felt them coming and yanked Sasuke away so he wouldn't get hit while making sure he didn't get hit himself.

They landed a little further away from everyone else, "Don't let your guard down with him. He'd dangerous." The blonde warned putting his sword down getting ready to use his ninjutsu instead. Using Kenjutsu would have no effect on a battle like this one.

 _'_ _Let's see how this plays out.'_

"Hmph, take your own advice." Sasuke said.

Haku appeared from the mist, "You…are an Uchiha. I see so there was still one left in the world, and you are the last Uzumaki."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "I didn't think anyone knew about us anymore, but I guess some do."

"Oi, what are you two talking about?" Sasuke demanded.

"It doesn't concern you, I suggest you forfeit Uchiha, while I suggest you come with us peacefully Uzumaki-san." Haku asked politely.

Naruto got in position, "Sorry, it sounds tempting but Konoha has its perks."

"As if I'd forfeit. Come." Sasuke got into position.

"I see…your choice is unfortunate," Haku made a hand sign, "Hijutsu: Makyō Hyōshō (Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals)." About twenty ice crystal mirrors appeared all around them and Haku disappeared into one.

Naruto smelled ice everywhere all round them and decided to take a guess, "I smell ice…is this Hyōton (Ice Release)?"

"What?" Sasuke looked at him.

"This is a kekkei genkai used only by the Yuki clan," Naruto remembered hearing about them from Yamato when they talked about different kekkei genkai's and what clan's held them, and the Yuki clan held Ice Release, "So your part of the Yuki clan."

"Correct, Uzumaki-san. I am the last of my clan just like you two, in my old village Kirigakure the Mizukage ordered the bloodline purge of all bloodlines. No one was spared, man woman, child. They were killed, I survived because my mother hid and settles down before giving birth to me. Once I awakened to my bloodline my father found out and gathered a mob to kill me and my mother. However, my bloodline killed him and the mob that were trying to kill me and I fled. That's when I met Zabuza-sama and vowed to stay by his side." Haku explained.

"I see." Naruto said sadly.

"Stop talking and fight." Sasuke said impatiently.

 _"_ _Is he always like this?" Asura frowned at the boy._

 ** _"_** ** _Damn Uchiha." Kurama growled._**

"Very well." a senbon needle was launched from behind Sasuke striking him in the leg making him feel pain in his leg.

 _"_ _Naruto, use my sensory jutsu! It should help you in battle! I know you have your enhance senses but this is a formidable opponent!" Asura told him._

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated, "Kanchi no Jutsu (Sensory Jutsu)." Closing his eyes he concentrated where Haku might strike from next, after about 2 minutes his eyes snapped open as he heard Haku call out his attack.

"Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō (Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death)." A thousand long needles appeared from each crystal mirror coming at Naruto and Sasuke quickly.

Naruto acted quickly, Rat → Dog → Tiger, "Mokuton: Mokujōheki (Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu)!" a wood dome covered both Naruto and Sasuke covering them as a thousand needles attacked the wood dome instead of them. When the assault finally stopped Haku saw that the needles were stuck in the dome but it didn't break at all.

"Impressive." Haku complimented.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, "This defense is really useful."

"No kidding." Sasuke agreed, "How did you know he was going to use a jutsu like that?"

"I didn't. I just sensed he was going to use a really big one like the ice mirror technique." Naruto stated he put the wood dome down and Sasuke took that time to attack.

Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger: "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)!" Sasuke sent his trademark fireball jutsu at the ice pillars in front of him hoping that it would at least melt one of the ice pillars but it didn't, "What?!"

"So their resistant to Fire release techniques then, huh?" Naruto observed.

Haku sent more senbon needles at them prompting them both to dodge out of the way, the hunter-nin observed them, "I see, you are now both able to read and sense my movements."

Naruto looked over at Sasuke and saw it. The Uchiha had finally awakened his Sharingan, "Looks like you have your Sharingan active now."

Sasuke smirked, finally his Sharingan was awakened. Now he can follow Haku's movements as well as copy any jutsu Naruto might use.

Haku sent more senbon needles at the two, both of them just barely getting out of the way, Sasuke was able to because of his Sharingan and Naruto because he could sense the attacks coming.

Sasuke was starting to get used to Haku's movements and made to use another fireball jutsu, Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger: "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)!" Sasuke sent a giant fireball at the mirror's hoping to end the fight then and there. The Uchiha watched as the flames dispersed and to his surprise the ice still hadn't melted.

"What?!" Sasuke couldn't believe it was still there and he had used up a lot of chakra when using the Fireball Jutsu.

"I'm sorry…but I'm afraid you've lost," Haku said from behind the Uchiha heir making him freeze in place, "Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō (Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death)." Using the same technique as before he sent a thousand senbon needles at the Uchiha heir, the needles piercing his body as he cried out in pain and soon feel backwards unmoving.

Haku stopped his jutsu and looked over at Naruto, "I did not wish to kill your friend, but he left me with no choice."

"It's fine, besides you didn't exactly kill Sasuke anyway. You missed hitting anything vital on purpose, didn't you?" Naruto said calmly.

Haku's eyes widened from beneath the mask.

Naruto wasted no time in attacking, Rat → Rabbit → Dog: "Fūton: Shinkūgyoku (Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets)!" taking a deep breath he exhaled several small blasts of wind chakra at the ice mirrors before him. Haku escaped to different mirrors but it proved to be futile as it hit wherever he was trying avoid and got him in the arm.

 _'_ _He managed to shatter 3 mirrors and injure me as I was moving through them! Is this the power of the Uzumaki clan?'_ Haku thought holding his arm.

Naruto smirked inwardly, Yamato had brought a scroll to him saying that it had a list of wind techniques he had obtained from a long time when he left a certain organization not liking their methods. Before he made the decision to leave, he snuck into the office of the person he didn't agree with and stole their scroll of wind jutsu taking it with him as he left. The person he stole the scroll from…was none other than Danzo Shimura. Yamato told him that the man was dangerous and not to go near him at all. Warning received. If Yamato said the guy was dangerous to be around then he'd listen to him.

 _'_ _I need to end this now though, because I'm getting a bad feeling all of a sudden,'_ Naruto thought making hand signs, Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake: "Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)!" sending a stream of wind from his mouth he watched as the rest of the ice mirror's shattered and Haku flew away from the blonde, his mask cracking and falling off his face.

When he opened his eyes he saw the blonde was giving him a concerned look then smiled, "You know…I had a feeling it was you I was fighting."

Haku couldn't help but smile at the blonde, "How did you know?"

"I sensed your chakra signature," Naruto told him honestly, "When we first met, I sensed you had strong chakra and knew that you were no pushover. And now here you again fighting me and my teammate."

Haku smiled closing his eyes, "Your right…your friend is still alive."

"Yeah I kinda figured." Naruto smiled back helping Haku up, "Can you go get my sword for me? We need to get to Zabuza and Kakashi-sensei quickly, I'm getting a bad feeling."

Haku knew the boy couldn't see him nod so he simply took the blonde hand much to his surprise and helped lead him to his sword, "Uh…Haku?"

"I lost. So its only fair I help you as I do with Zabuza-sama." Haku smiled.

The blonde sighed, "Fine."

* * *

Kakashi and Zabuza were still fighting each other, with the silver haired Jounin using a kunai to fight against Zabuza's sword.

"Why are you after Naruto?" Kakashi demanded.

"Hmph, I'm no after kid. Didn't you hear me? _They_ want the kids and will kill anyone who gets in their way," Zabuza stated, "If the kid comes with me we'll be on the move and they won't be able to find him."

"Naruto's safer in Konoha." Kakashi glared.

"You really think so?" Zabuza challenged, "I highly doubt even your Hokage can stand up to them."

"Who are they?" Kakashi wanted answers.

"Dunno," Zabuza shrugged, "They don't exactly announce their names out loud y'know."

Before Kakashi could attack and demand more answers they were interrupted by the voce of the last person they never expected to see, "Heh, you cant even kill a ninja despite being one yourself? Pathetic Zabuza."

Gato appeared along with various thugs behind him who were smirking like a bunch of creeps.

Zabuza snarled, "Gato…just what the hell do you think your doing?"

Gato smirked, "Missing-nin are very expensive, so I decided to cut you off…permanently."

Zabuza looked over at Kakashi, "What do you want to do?"

Kakashi still wanted answers from the man, but decided to put it off in favor of paying attention to the current situation, "It would seem we need to deal with him."

"Heh, fine by me." Zabuza grinned.

"Please allow me to assist you Zabuza-sama." Haku appeared next to the man as Naruto appeared next to Kakashi.

Zabuza grinned at Haku, "So you lost, huh? That's a first."

Haku smiled, "Yes, though I did enjoy myself."

"I can tell."

Kakashi looked over at Naruto and saw he was okay but wondered about Sasuke, "Sasuke's fine. He has a lot senbon needles stabbed into him but he'll live. Haku didn't hit anything vital. He's over by Sakura and Tazuna."

Kakashi was surprised the boy would go easy on Sasuke and Naruto at all, but was grateful nonetheless, "Good."

Gato smirked "Should you really be talking to yourselves right now? You realize you stand no chance against these men, right?"

Naruto made the clone seal, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu)." Multiple Naruto clones appeared all around Gato and his thugs making their jaws drop to the floor.

Kakashi was impressed Naruto could make this many clones. His chakra reserves are just impressive, "Well…this will take a lot out of me but I'll help out as well." Kakashi made multiple shadow clones himself.

Zabuza grinned and ran towards them at blinding speeds that no one could comprehend he passed by all the thugs heading straight for Gato not letting the man get any chance to escape. Gato could do nothing but stand there in horror as Zabuza was already in front of him and swing his sword down. The business mans head was sent flying through the air before it fell in the water below, Zabuza grabbed the body and tossed it in the water as well, "Hmph, trash."

"O-Oi!" one of the thugs yelled.

"You just killed out meal ticket!" the thug something hit his forehead and saw it was an arrow with a rubber tip on it and looked up seeing all of the citizens of Nami no Kuni glaring at them with Inari leading the citizens.

"We've had enough you guys terrorizing our town! Get out of here or you'll have to deal with us!" Inari got ready to use another arrow, and the citizens got ready to use their weapons in retaliation.

The thugs looked at the citizens then at the ninja's behind them, then at Zabuza. Turning towards each other they all took off leaving the town permanently not wanting to stay another minute.

Naruto sighed feeling they ran away and sent his clones away one by one instead of all at once, because summoning that many clones and dispelling them all at the same time would not be fun. Kakashi did the exact same thing.

Sakura was hovering over Sasuke worriedly and saw him twitch before opening his eyes, "Sasuke-kun!" she smiled in relief.

Sasuke felt pain all around him but wanted to know, "What happened?"

"I don't know, I couldn't see the battle because of the mist." Sakura told him honestly, "But your amazing Sasuke-kun! You defeated the mist ninja in the mask, right?"

Sasuke looked away, "No…the one who defeated him was Naruto. Not me."

Sakura thought he was joking at first thinking there's no way Naruto would be able defeat a strong ninja like that but the look on Sasuke's face told her otherwise making her look over at the blonde who was talking to Inari showing a small smile at the boy. She wondered just strong he really was.

* * *

"Do you really have to go?" Inari almost had tears in his eyes.

"Yeah we do," Naruto said, "It's been fun but we really need to get going, thanks for everything."

"That's my line kid." Tazuna smiled.

"Take care of yourselves on your way home okay?" Tsunami smiled.

"We will." Kakashi said, "Let's go."

They all walked away from Nami no Kuni taking Zabuza and Haku with them. The two mist ninja decided to go to Konoha with the group which confused them, but Naruto didn't seem to mind at all and Kakashi saw this as a n opportunity to get some answers from Zabuza anyway.

Tazuna smiled at the group, _'That boy…he managed to help Inari, and restore his faith again. We will forever be in debt to them.'_

It was then that the citizens decided to name the bridge after their hero. The bridge would be named…

The Great Naruto Bridge.

 **Konohagakure**

To say Izumo and Kotetsu were surprised to see Zabuza Momochi was n understatement, but a smile from Kakashi and a sigh from Naruto told them that it was okay, but they had to wonder how they managed to convince Zabuza of all people to come to Konoha?

Zabuza and Haku walked with Team 7 on their way to the Hokage Tower and saw that some people in the village were sending happy smile at the blonde but they could tell their were foreigners because the more local villagers were either ignoring him or muttering spiteful words in his direction but the blonde had a bored look on his face making Zabuza snicker at the dumbass villagers. Pathetic.

The group headed towards the tower and walked up the stairs heading towards the office and saw a man walking with a cane, his right eye covered in white bandages, as was his right arm walk past them. Naruto felt Kakashi's emotions started turning negative as soon as the man past by him and was slightly curious. Even though he couldn't see the person, he could feel multiple chakra signatures that felt eerily familiar. He felt the person give him a cold glance prompting the blonde to give him a side glance making the man bend over in pain gripping his arm and tried to grip his right eye too but he couldn't do both. He fell to his knees in pain and two people in white hoods came to get the man and disappeared confusing the group.

"What the hell was that all about?" Zabuza raised a brow.

Haku was also curious.

Naruto knew that as soon as he turned his attention to the person he felt raging emotions coming off from his right eye and right arm that felt way too familiar to be a coincidence, _'Asura, what just happened? I could have sworn I felt something similar to the…'_

 _"_ _Sharingan. Your not imagining it Naruto, the man that just past us has Sharingan's on his right arm, and one implanted in his right eye." Asura frowned._

 _'_ _What?! But how where did he-'_ his eyes widened, _'The Uchiha Massacre! He took them off from the dead bodies! Sick bastard!'_

 _"_ _So it would seem." Asura said._

 _'_ _But why did he convulse in pain though?'_ Naruto wondered.

 _"_ _Because you've awakened my soul within you. Indra's Ninshū responds to mine instantly if it senses I'm near, and the Sharingan have an impulse reaction to respond to me maliciously because of Indra." Asura explained._

 _'_ _So that's why he was in pain.'_

 _"_ _You should ask your mentor Yamato about that man. I feel cold and malicious intent coming off of him." Asura didn't like what he was feeling from the man. Just what has happened for the human race to become like this?_

 _'_ _I plan to, don't worry.' Naruto said._

* * *

Naruto sighed as he watered his plants with the help of his clones. The Hokage wasn't very happy when he found out about how their simple C-rank mission became A-rank, not to mention that the ninja's hired to kill the bridge builder was standing right before him along with his apprentice but a good word from Naruto made the old man deflate a little. He did place Zabuza on probation for about a week and Haku was promoted to Chunin and was asked to go see Ishida-sensei at the hospital seeing as how the boy has excellent medical skills. With that done, The Hokage dismissed Sasuke and Sakura only asking that Kakashi and Naruto stay behind to discuss something important to them.

Zabuza told the old man about Haku's kekkei genkai and the old man promised the man that he would keep it a secret just like he's ben keeping Naruto's Mokuton a secret from the council. The former mist ninja was grateful for this and bowed to the old man, he then told the Hokage bluntly that he will help train Naruto with his Kenjutsu skills much to Kakashi and Hiruzen's surprise even Naruto, but Haku smiled.

Ultimately the decision rested with Naruto. The blonde aid he'd be honored to be taught by the man and told him that his skills with the sword are still novice based and needed some guidance. Zabuza said when he got through with him his skills wont be novice for long making Hiruzen and Kakashi sweat-drop, they did _not_ need another Zabuza especially in Naruto.

Now here Naruto was watering his plants trying to clam his nerves down after his little run in with that person with multiple Sharingan's earlier. For some reason he thought of this Danzo guy Yamato-sensei told him about on time, and wondered if that person might've been Danzo Shimura. If he was then he needed to tell Yamato-sensei what he felt from him.

As if hearing his thoughts the door opened and in came Yamato, he had a spare key to the apartment and would sometimes enter to take care of the plants while Naruto was either training or out on a mission.

"Naruto! I heard your mission went from C-rank to A-rank and that Zabuza Momochi is here! Is that true?!" Yamato asked frantically.

Naruto couldn't help but sigh, "Calm down, Yamato-sensei. You'll give yourself high blood pressure is you don't."

Yamato couldn't help but fall down anime style, "Naruto!"

"Yes, our C-rank became A-rank. The client Tazuna lied to us but everything worked out in the end and we completed our mission, and yes Zabuza-sensei is here because he wants to help me improve my Kenjutsu skills." Naruto said calmly.

"I see…wait, what?!" Yamato exclaimed.

Naruto sighed, "Since you're here there's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Danzo Shimura." Naruto said.

Yamato's face grew serious, "Naruto, has Danzo tried to do anything to you?"

"No, but when we were walking to the Hokage's office I felt the cold stare of someone with a familiar chakra signature and looked over at the person giving them my full attention. As soon as I turned my head to the person he made a sound as though he was in pain, then I sensed two presences that didn't feel like ANBU at all that took the person away," Naruto frowned, "Yamato-sensei…I think I ran into Danzo Shimura."

"What?!" Yamato yelled.

"I felt the cold gaze, is he known for doing that?" Naruto wondered.

Yamato frowned, "Yes he is. I know you cant see what he looks like but I'll give you a physical description. His right eye and arm are bandaged up."

The blonde narrowed his eyes, _'Yeah, I ran into the Danzo Shimura alright.'_

"He's not injured. In fact he's fooling everyone." Naruto told him.

"What do you mean?"

Naruto closed his eyes then opened them, "I mean that he has multiple Sharingan's on his right arm and a one implanted in his right eye."

Yamato's eyes widened then his face turned serious, "Naruto…tell me everything."

* * *

 **Next Time: Chūnin Exams.**


	6. The Chūnin Exams

Team 7 has been nominated to take the Chūnin Exams, and not just them but the other Rookies are also participating. The participating teams from Iwagakure and Kumogakure are also taking the exams, but they have different reason for participating. The strange individuals who know that Naruto is an Uzumaki arrive in Konoha, but what is their goal?

* * *

Kakashi stared at his Genin squad. They had just taken a team picture courtesy of Kakashi himself who thought it would be a good idea. Kakashi was smiling from behind the three; Sakura was in the middle smiling, Sasuke on her right frowning and Naruto looked away. He still couldn't figure out how to bond with the blonde because as soon as they get done with missions Naruto would leave immediately ignoring his team as to where he was going. He sighed, no matter what he tried the blonde just wouldn't open up to him or his team and liked to keep his distance. Kakashi could still see Sasuke eyeing the blonde every once in awhile and even asked the blonde to spar with him but the blonde declined every time saying he had important things to do and walked away. Kakashi thought that a team spar would be good for the team but Naruto just had no interest at all, he kept reminding himself to see Tenzo so he could ask how to understand his blonde student. Fortunately they still come together on missions, which was a good thing because it showed that despite how they feel towards each other they can put their differences aside and come together on missions.

So now here Kakashi was facing his Genin team, "Good work you three. You can do whatever you want now." And with that disappeared.

Naruto walked off immediately getting his teammates attention, "Hold it dobe." Sasuke called out.

The blonde ignored him completely and kept on walking not at all interested in sparring with the Uchiha or anything else, and he _really_ didn't want to be near Sakura either. She has been completely insufferable ever since the mission no Nami no Kuni and he just wanted her to stop bothering him already. Ever since the mission she kept yelling at him more and more but luckily he still carried his earplugs to drown her out. He still wondered why he couldn't have just been on someone else's team or at least have Yamato as his sensei but things don't go as planned in life.

He kept walking when he sensed a familiar chakra signature as well as two new ones from behind him and smiled, "Konohamaru, would you like to introduce me to your new friends?"

Behind the blonde was a cardboard box with two eyeholes on it. The box exploded in a cloud of smoke taking him by surprise.

"You used too much smoke!" a female child complained.

"S-Sorry." A shy male voice apologized.

Naruto turned around hearing the voices with interest.

"Hey boss!" Konohamaru grinned.

"Yo," Naruto greeted, "It's been awhile. How've you been?"

"Great! These are my friends!" the boy grinned.

"I-I'm Udon!" Udon greeted.

"I'm Moegi, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Moegi bowed politely.

"And I'm Konohamaru!" Konohamaru greeted last, "And together we're…"

They all did a pose, "The Konohamaru Squad!"

Naruto's lips twitched in amusement, "I see. Impressive squad you have there Konohamaru."

"Thanks, boss!" Konohamaru grinned.

"U-Um?" Udon spoke up.

"What is it?" Naruto turned to the nervous boy.

Udon's eyes widened, "Konohamaru was right! You really are blind!"

"But he could sense we were following him!" Moegi was impressed.

"See I told you! Boss is amazing and so cool!" Konohamaru grinned at his friends.

Naruto's heart felt warm around the boy and his friends. He didn't mind Konohamaru the first time they met sensing the boy just missed having his grandfather around and wanted his attention. He just hoped that the boy wouldn't be exposed to the cruel world when he gets older.

Konohamaru grabbed Naruto's hand, "Hey boss, will you play ninja with us please? Oh, and can you show us that cool forest again?"

"I don't see why not?" the blonde smiled.

"What kind of a ninja plays ninja?" Sakura scoffed walking towards them.

Naruto frowned at the girl, "What I do with Konohamaru the Sandaime's grandson and his friends is of no concern of yours."

Sakura was taken back by the non-too pleased tone of his voice and was just as surprised to hear that one of the kids was the Hokage's grandson.

"Hey boss, is she your girlfriend?" Konohamaru asked.

"She is no such thing." Naruto stated with indifference.

Sakura felt a stab to the chest. She knew that Naruto didn't like her in a romantic way or at all for that matter, but she didn't think he'd deny it with indifference. For some reason she felt hurt by his words.

"Oh good, because you can do soo much better." Konohamaru crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto wondered curiously.

Konohamaru nodded, "Her foreheads too big and she's basically flat-chested too. You deserve someone much better."

Udon and Moegi nodded in agreement.

Naruto's lip twitched in amusement at the claim and sensed that Sakura's mood soon became murderous, "Konohamaru I appreciate the advice but I suggest you run…now."

Konohamaru saw the look on the pink haired girls face and took off along with his friends, Sakura immediately took chase making him sigh and followed after them but at a walking pace. After a few minutes he soon heard Konohamaru bump into someone prompting him intervenes having sensed the emotions up ahead weren't exactly friendly.

"Damn brat, that hurt." A boy a little older than Naruto wearing black clothing, having a something wrapped in white bandages strapped to his back growled having Konohamaru by the collar.

"Put the kid down Kankuro." A girl a little older than Naruto with blonde hair that were tied in four pigtails wearing a white clothing, with a black fan strapped to her back sighed.

"Not until this kid apologizes, Temari." Kankuro said.

"Put me down you jerk! If you don't, Naruto-nii-chan will come and beat you up!" Konohamaru threatened knowing that Naruto would come to his rescue.

"K-Konohamaru's right! So you better put him down!" Moegi said from behind Sakura where Udon was also hiding behind.

"Oh yeah, well where is he then?" Kankuro smirked then it was wiped from his face when he felt a sword pointed at his throat.

"Right here." Naruto said coldly not at all amused with the situation at all.

Temari looked at the blonde in total shock, _'I-I didn't even sense him coming!'_

Kankuro was having similar thoughts he stared at the blonde kid and noticed something about his eyes, _'This kid…he's blind!'_

"If you don't want to die before the exams even start then I suggest you put Konohamaru down immediately," Naruto threatened, "Besides, it wouldn't look good for foreign ninja like you to be harassing the Sandaime's grandson now would it?"

Kankuro and Temari paled and the boy put Konohamaru down immediately the kid scrambling to his feet and hid behind Naruto. The blonde smiled and sheathed his blade, "Thank you, oh and before I forget. You can stop hiding up in the tree anytime now Sasuke, that goes for the other sand ninja too."

Everyone looked up and indeed saw Sasuke who looked annoyed that the blonde sensed he was there then turned to their left to see a boy who looked about Naruto's age with red hair with the red kanji for 'love' on his forehead, wearing black overalls and a sand gourd on his back. The red head was standing upside down and eyed the blonde who didn't even look in his general direction.

"G-Gaara!" Kankuro flinched seeing the boy there.

"Kankuro, you're a disgrace to the village." Gaara stated.

"But Gaara these punks-!" Kankuro was about to protest.

Gaara shunshin'd via sand next to Naruto staring at Kankuro coldly, "Shut up…or I'll kill you."

Kankuro wisely shut up.

Naruto felt it too, _'That's some bloodlust. He's not even trying to hide it.'_

 _"_ _That presence…its Shukaku!" Asura recognized._

 _'_ _Are you sure?' Naruto questioned._

 ** _"_** ** _No doubt about it kit, it's Shukaku alright. Bastards been having fun manipulating his Jinchuriki into killing." Kurama scoffed._**

 _'_ _What are the odds we'd find one of your siblings here?' Naruto said seeing the irony._

 _"_ _I agree." Asura said._

 ** _"_** ** _Watch your back with him kit." Kurama warned._**

 _"_ _Kurama's right, be careful." Asura agreed._

 _'_ _Got it.' Naruto said._

Gaara looked at the blonde, "I apologize for Kankuro's behavior."

"It's fine. Just make sure he doesn't do it again," Naruto smiled, "I smell sand coming off from you three…so your from Sunagakure then?"

"Yes." Gaara confirmed.

"Hey…your blind aren't you?" Temari asked carefully hoping not to offend him.

"Yep. I was wondering when you were gonna ask." The blonde kept his smile.

Temari blushed a little and smile nervously.

"Wait a minute! What are foreign ninja doing here anyway?" Sakura questioned.

"Their here for the Chūnin Exams." Naruto answered. Yamato told him that they would be coming up.

"Chūnin Exams?" Sakura questioned. She didn't hear anything about it from Kakashi-sensei at all so how did Naruto know?

Gaara turned from them back to the blonde, "You…who are you?"

Naruto turned to him and smiled, "Naruto Uzumaki, and you are?"

"Gaara…Sabaku." Gaara answered.

"Gaara Sabaku…that suits you." Naruto complimented.

"You as well," Gaara said, "You better be taking the exam Uzumaki. Because you will prove my existence."

Naruto smirked, "It sounds like too much fun to miss out on. See you there."

"The same to you." Gaara walked off his teammates following after him surprised he actually had a civil conversation with someone and didn't threaten them.

Naruto sighed and looked over at Konohamaru who had stopped shaking but was still a little scared, "You okay?"

Konohamaru nodded and grinned, "That was so cool, boss!"

Moegi and Udon came up and smiled, "That was amazing! I didn't even see you move!"

"So strong…" Udon stared in awe.

Naruto's lips quirked in amusement, "I appreciate the compliments but you should get going. I'll see you guys later."

Konohamaru and his gang left with smiles on their faces eager to tell everyone about how cool Naruto was and protected them from the sand bullies.

Naruto sighed, _'What a day.'_ He walked away from the area not wanting to socialize with his team not really in the mood to anyway.

"Oi dobe, what are the Chunin exams?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto stopped and looked to his right having sensed a few presences and not liking a few of them, and judging by the chakra signatures they were strong making him a little cautious.

"Naruto…?" Sakura called out to the blonde noting that he must've sensed something and it made him uncomfortable.

"We should leave this area now." Naruto walked away from them not liking what he sensed at all.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other and actually followed after their blonde haired teammate not understanding why he wanted to leave the area so quickly.

* * *

"Did you see that?" a ninja with the symbol for 'Earth' on his forehead said looking over at his female teammate.

The female clenched her fists, "No doubt about it…he's the Kiiroi Senkō (Yellow Flash's) son. So he did have an offspring after all!" she growled.

The heavy one on their team looked over at her nervously, "So what do you want to do, Kurotsuchi?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she stood up, "We kill him."

"Yeah but how?"

"We'll do it during the exams. No matter what we have to kill him for the sake of our village!" Kurotsuchi stated.

* * *

"Whew, pretty impressive speed he had there." A dark-skinned male with white hair and stick in his mouth whistled.

"No shit, but that's him right?" a girl with dark skin and long red hair and looked over at her female teammate.

A woman with blonde hair that was in a low ponytail nodded her head, "Yes. We must inform Killer Bee-sensei we've spotted the Kyūbi Jinchuriki."

"Think we should tell Raikage-sama?" the boy wondered.

"No, we should let Killer Bee-sensei know first then he will tell the Raikage, Omoi." The girl told him.

"Seriously? But what if he gets mad at us that we didn't tell him, or what if he-" he was whacked on the back of the head by the red haired female teammate of his.

"Will you just shut up already!" she yelled.

"Geez that hurt, Karui." Omoi rubbed the back of his head.

"Yugito-nee say something will ya?!" Karui complained to Yugito.

Yugito simply shook her head and sighed, "Why can't you two just get it together?"

* * *

A pale figure with long white hair having the same eyes as the Hyūga's was smiling from ear to ear when they saw who they were looking for, "Nii-sama…I found him!"

Another figure appeared next to her. This person had short white hair sporting a third eye on his forehead that was red sclerae and irides, with a ripple pattern spreading over the eyeball and nine tomoe. His eyes were also the same as the Hyūga's, "Yes Kagura, it seems we have finally found the Uzumaki we have been looking for. So young."

"He is! He looks like he's my age!" Kagura swung her legs as she watched him from the roof they were sitting on.

"No he is not, you are only 8 years old while he is 12. There is an age difference." The boy rolled his eyes. He was the same age as Naruto actually.

Kagura pouted, "Mou, Haruto-nii-sama your so mean~"

"Enough already. You know why we're here, correct?" Haruto raised a brow at her.

She smiled, "Yep. I hear they have a 'council' here, how should we handle them?"

"We are to show them just how pathetic they truly are if they should interfere." Haruto stated coldly, "We will not let them taint the Uzumaki."

Kagura had a sadistic grin on her face, "We will destroy them."

* * *

Hiruzen had the Jounin gathered in his office to discuss who's team will be participating in the Chūnin Exams, "All of the Jounin present here, inform me who will be taking place in the Chūnin Exams?"

Kakashi took a step forward, "I, Kakashi Hatake nominate, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno."

Kurenai took a step forward, "I, Kurenai Yūhi nominate, Hinata Hyūga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka."

Asuma took a step forward, "I, Asuma Sarutobi nominate, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka."

Yamato was surprised, this is the first time all of the rookies would be participating in the exams this year.

Iruka's eyes widened.

Hiruzen was intrigued, "All of the rookies taking place within the exams. This is a first."

"Wait a minute!" Iruka yelled.

"What's wrong?" Hiruzen turned to him.

"Nominating all of them for the exams is dangerous! You'll destroy these kids!" Iruka yelled.

"Maybe they need it," Kakashi said lazily, "I know two of my students do." He was referring to Sasuke and Sakura.

Iruka glared at the man, "The Chūnin Exams are grueling and some of them could end up dead! Their not ready to become Chūnin yet!"

"I became a Chūnin at the age of 6," Kakashi informed him, "And became ANBU captain when I was around Naruto's age."

"Naruto is nothing like you!" Iruka and Yamato growled.

Kurenai whispered in Asuma's ear, "What's going on here?"

"Yamato and Kakashi used to be in the ANBU together but Kakashi was taken out and given the rank Jounin while Yamato stayed in ANBU. The two of them didn't get along all that well at first but after awhile things got better. Yamato's just being protective of Naruto because of…well you know." He whispered back.

Kurenai nodded.

"Rumor has it that Yamato found something out concerning Naruto that ties to Kakashi and wasn't very happy about it and didn't want him anywhere near Naruto. But the Hokage had placed him as the boy's sensei and he's still sore about it. As for Iruka, I don't really know what's going on between him and Kakashi." Asuma shrugged.

"I see." Kurenai said.

Yamato closed his eyes and sighed to calm down, "That aside, I think their ready."

"What?! Yamato!" Iruka looked at him.

"This will be a good experience for them," Yamato said, "The rookies wont get themselves killed their a lot smarter than that. I'm more worried about the foreign ninja that are participating this year."

"Furthermore, their not your students anymore Iruka," Kakashi added, "Their considered shinobi now."

Iruka knew he was right but still he couldn't help but feel worried about them.

"What do you mean about being worried about the foreign ninja, Yamato?" Asuma questioned.

Yamato narrowed his eyes, "I mean, Iwagakure and Kumogakure."

Kakashi's eyes widened at the mention of Iwa, "Hokage-sama, you allowed Iwa to take part in the exams?"

"I did," Hiruzen admitted, "However I don't think they'll try anything and simply focus on the exams. I hope."

Yamato and Kakashi thought the same thing.

Kurenai was worried about the Kumo nin that were here after the whole Hyūga incident that resulted in Hizashi's death and Neji's hatred towards the Main Branch and Hinata. If the boy should go up against the Kumo nin at some point there's a strong possibility he might kill that ninja.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he leaned against the bridge thinking about yesterday. He wasn't expecting to run into Sunagakure's Jinchuriki Gaara Sabaku and he could sense the bloodlust coming off from the boy in droves and when he said that he'd prove his existence it seemed to have multiplied but for some reason Naruto didn't feel disturbed by it at all and knew why it was because he felt Kurama, Hiruzen, and Zabuza's killing intent that it didn't even bother him anymore. Speaking of Zabuza he and the mist nin have been practicing sword play and the blonde had learned three new moves as well as some jutsu by the former mist ninja. Zabuza trained him down to the dirt, not like he wasn't used to it because he was but still his training methods are downright monstrous and he wondered how Haku was able to deal with it?

He planned on using the jutsu's he learned form Zabuza in the exams and wondered if the other competitors would be surprised. Kakashi had met up with them in the afternoon yesterday and told them that he nominated them for the Chūnin Exams. Naruto could feel his teammates emotions, Sasuke's was anticipation, while Sakura's felt uneasiness. She was unsure as to whether or not to take the exams. In his opinion Sakura wasn't ready yet, she was feeling nervous and unsure. She might end up getting herself killed.

Kakashi arrived on time surprisingly but that only proved just how serious these exams were, "Yo."

"K-Kakashi-sensei…your early." Sakura stammered.

"Well, you three are participating in the Chūnin exams. So, I thought I'd get here on time to escort you to your meeting place." Kakashi smiled.

"Where are the exams taking place?" Sasuke questioned.

"At the Academy, room 301." The Jounin told them.

Naruto started walking in the direction of the Academy followed by his team and a worried Kakashi. Iwagakure is here to take the exams along with Kumogakure. Sunagakure they didn't have to worry about seeing as how they have an alignment with the hidden village.

Team 7 arrived at the Academy and departed with Kakashi to go inside the building. Naruto noticed something as they walked up the stairs to the second floor, a feeling of eeriness that you'd only get when your submitted to a Genjutsu or feel one nearby. The blonde felt it and smirked, "So that's how it is."

"What are you babbling about Naruto-baka?" Sakura questioned in annoyance.

"So you did sense it." Sasuke smirked himself.

Sakura was confused now and looked back in forth in between them.

Naruto sighed, "There's a Genjutsu up ahead, meaning the exams already started."

Sasuke smirked.

Sakura said nothing.

"Pease let us through!"

Sasuke and Sakura saw a boy with bowl hair cut wearing a green spandex was begging to get inside the room along with a girl who had her hair tied up in buns, wearing a pink shirt and green pants.

"We're doing you a favor," the man before him said who obviously a Chūnin himself pushed the boy roughly making him fall on his behind, "You'll just end up dying anyway, kid."

Naruto sighed and was about to head up the stairs but Sasuke decided to open his mouth, "You should stop this pathetic display of Genjutsu." He got the attention of the Genin present.

 _'_ _Idiot.'_ Naruto thought inwardly. They could have just walked right on by and not of said anything but Sasuke just had to show off.

"We're supposed to be meeting in room 301 not 201," Sasuke smirked, "We could sense your Genjutsu easily."

Naruto sighed.

Sakura said nothing because she didn't even sense that there was a Genjutsu being used but Naruto and Sasuke did. Is she really that far behind?

The Chūnin growled and moved to engage Sasuke in Taijutsu and the Uchiha responded in kind the man sent a punch while Sasuke sent a kick that would have made contact if Naruto hadn't used his can to smack the man's hand away and grabbed Sasuke's ankle. Naruto sighed, "Save your alpha dispute for the exams." He let the Uchiha's ankle go and walked up the stairs to the correct room already irritated, he could hear footsteps meaning his team was following him but sensed Sasuke's negative emotions but didn't really care.

They were about to make their way to the 3rd floor when the same boy from before appeared before them. His eyes landed on Sakura and blushed, "Your Sakura Haruno, I am Rock Lee! Please go out with me! I will protect you with my life!" he winked at her.

Naruto's lip quirked at his boldness, _'Him and Sakura, huh? Interesting combination.'_

Sakura shivered at the boy, "There's no way!" she denied. Looking over at Sasuke she saw that he really didn't care making her heart sink.

Lee looked hurt for a second then got over it as his eyes landed on Naruto and smiled at the boy, "It is true then! You're the Blind Ninja Naruto Uzumaki, correct?"

Naruto's eyes twitched at the nickname, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki but what's with the nickname?"

Lee bowed, "My apologies, I have heard many great things about your abilities! You are blind yet very strong and powerful! You are a worthy ninja!"

Naruto didn't say anything for a few minute but he did eventually cracked a smile, "Thanks for the compliment," he was curious about something concerning Lee, "Your something else yourself, your strong."

Lee's face brightened up at the compliment, "I thank you for the compliment Naruto-kun! You are truly a youthful person!" he grabbed the blondes hands, "Please be my rival!"

"Sure." Naruto smiled.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at him as though he had just grown a second head, "Hmph, there's nothing strong about this loser."

Naruto frowned at him then smirked, "Then why don't you fight him one on one to test out that little theory of yours?"

"What?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"You and Lee will spar right here," Naruto said, "Me and Sakura wont interfere at all. Is that okay with you Lee?"

Lee's eyes brightened up with excitement, "Yes! Thank you very much Naruto-kun!"

The blonde smiled, "Good, we'll get out of your way then." He walked away with Sakura following after him.

"You do realize that Sasuke-kun's going to beat him, right?" Sakura told him not understanding why he thinks Lee has a chance.

"If that's what you truly believe then you really need to watch how this spar turns out because Lee's no pushover for a reason." Naruto told her.

Sakura didn't comment and simply turned to watch the spar.

"Hmph, this will be easy." Sasuke said arrogantly.

Lee got into a stance, "Let us begin."

Sasuke smirked and charged at Lee who narrowed his eyes, _'He's coming.'_ As soon as the Uchiha was close enough Lee disappeared from view kicked the Uchiha right in the gut sending him flying towards the other side of the room.

Sakura's jaw dropped not believing what she just saw, while Naruto smiled. He sensed no chakra coming from Lee, which told him he could use no Ninjutsu and possibly no Genjutsu either so that meant he used pure Taijutsu. Sasuke's Taijutsu skills weren't that bad but he sensed that Lee's Taijutsu skills were something to be wary of completely.

 _'_ _This will bruise his little ego for awhile but whatever.'_ Naruto smirked.

Sasuke got up slowly and glare at the boy about to go at him again but Lee disappeared from sight and appeared before the Uchiha again, "Konoha Senpū (Leaf Hurricane)!" he got Sasuke again sending him rolling on the ground.

Sasuke got back up his Sharingan active making Sakura smile.

"The Sharingan! Now Sasuke-kun's going to win!" Sakura smiled.

"Doubt it." Naruto commented.

"What?!" Sakura growled.

"The Sharingan may allow the person to copy another person's jutsu's and read their movements but that's useless against Lee." The blonde said cryptically.

"What are you talking about?"

He sighed, "You still haven't figured it out?"

"What?"

"Nevermind." Naruto sighed tiredly.

Sakura was glaring at him, _'What's his problem?'_

Sasuke's Sharingan was active making him smirk, _'I'll be able to read his movements now.'_ His eyes widened when Lee disappeared from sight again appearing before the boy kicking him upwards before appearing behind him, "Kage Buyō (Dancing Leaf Shadow)."

Sasuke's eyes widened, _'How?! How is he able to move so fast?!'_

Lee was about to use one of his techniques but a man looking exactly like the boy stopped him from using it separating them both. Naruto caught Sasuke and dropped him on the floor next to Sakura who was fretting over him.

"Lee! You know better than to use that here!" The lookalike scolded.

"Yes! My apologies Guy-sensei!" Lee bowed in apology.

Guy looked over at the three Genin, "Ah, you must be Kakashi my eternal rival's students!"

Naruto couldn't see the man but had a sneaking suspicion about who he might be, "Your Might Guy, aren't you?"

"Ah, has my rival Kakashi told you about me?" Guy grinned.

"No, Yamato did." Naruto said.

Guy face vaulted at that, "I-I see, no matter! Young man your Naruto Uzumaki aren't you?"

"I am." The blonde nodded.

"I see, I look forward to seeing you three in the exams." Guy told them grabbing Lee's shoulder and disappearing in a whirl of leaves.

Naruto smiled and walked away, _'Lee really is something else. I'm surprised my senses could keep up with some of his movements. The Chūnin Exams really are interesting.'_

 **Room 301**

Team 7 entered the room and was immediately exposed to a wave of killing intent being sent in their direction. Sasuke and Sakura felt uncomfortable seeing different shinobi from different villages glaring at them, mainly Iwa and Ame. Naruto wasn't fazed by the killing intent and simply walked past his teammates and leaned against a wall. The chakra signatures he felt in particular felt like earth and lightning, and he knew that Gaara was here because he could feel his bloodlust and it was directed right at him as were the ones coming off from the ninja with the earth chakra signatures. The only village he could think of was Iwagakure, which was strange for them to even send their ninja here seeing as how Konoha and Iwa have hated each other for what felt like forever but he didn't question it. He was also surprised Kumo sent their ninja here as well after the Hyūga incident. Hinata aside, he wondered how Neji would take it seeing them here?

 _'_ _This exam just went from exciting to troublesome,'_ his eye twitched as he said that, _'Great now I sound like Shikamaru.'_

"So you guys are here too? Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed approaching the blonde.

Naruto smiled, "Saying your famous catchphrase already, Shikamaru?"

The shadow boy simply sighed and stood next to Naruto with Choji right next to him.

"Sasuke-kun, there you are~" Ino jumped on his back.

"Hey get off him Ino-Pig!" Sakura yelled.

"Oh? You're here too Billboard Brow?" Ino smirked.

"What did you say?!" Sakura growled.

Naruto sighed, "I really wish she'd take her role as a kunoichi seriously. She'll end up getting herself killed if she doesn't."

"Ino's the same way." Shikamaru added with a sigh.

Choji nodded while eating his chips.

"N-Naruto-kun." The blonde heard Hinata's voice and turned to it with a smile, "So you saw through the Genjutsu too, huh? I'm not surprised. Its been awhile Shino, Kiba."

"Likewise." Shino bowed his head to the blonde.

"Yo Naruto! How's it going dealing with the brooder and banshee?" Kiba grinned slinging his arm around him.

Akamaru barked in happiness.

"Less than pleasant," Naruto stated, "As for Sakura's screeching I basically ignore her by placing earplugs in my ears. It works."

Kiba busted out laughing as did Akamaru, even Hinata had to giggle at that and Ino who just happened to be listening in on the conversation was having a giggling fit much to Sakura and Sasuke's confusion.

"I should invest in some myself," Shikamaru spoke up, "It'll work good against Ino."

Choji nodded.

"Would you all mind keeping it down?" a man approached them. He had silver hair that was in a low ponytail, glasses, purple shirt, pants, sporting purple armrests on each wrist. He had a Konoha headband on his forehead, "You guys are Rookies that are fresh out of the Academy, right? I suggest you draw less attention to yourselves, this isn't exactly a playground y'know."

"And who the hell are you?" Kiba growled.

Naruto didn't like being the guy either. The aura around him felt dark, as well as manipulative, and calculating. Like a snake. Getting a growl from Kurama told him that he was right in his assumption. He gripped his cane, the action not going unnoticed by Shikamaru. The shadow user has been watching the blonde for years and knew that if he felt something was wrong about something then he would believe it. Then this guy wasn't exactly as he seemed.

"Ah, I'm Kabuto Yakushi," Kabuto rubbed the back of his head nervously, "By the way, you might wanna take a look behind you."

The rookies looked behind them and saw that all of the older ninja present were glaring at them making some of them but Naruto was getting annoyed with it, so he asked Kurama to help him out in dealing with them. Turning his head slowly towards them he sent a burst of Kurama's own killing intent making those in the room shake and back away in fear of the blonde except Gaara and Yugito. Gaara looked excited while Yugito looked serious. Satisfied that everyone stopped with the pointless glaring he looked away drawing the attention of Shikamaru who knew that it came from the blonde.

 _'_ _That was intense…has Naruto been able to do this before?'_ Shikamaru thought.

Kabuto smirked, _'How very interesting. No wonder my lord has an interest in you.'_ He then smiled, "I suppose I can't blame you all though, I mean after all you are only rookies. Your acting just like how I used to."

"So, this is your second time taking the exams then?" Sakura smiled nervously.

"No…actually its my seventh attempt," he scratched the back of his head with a smile, "Actually its my fourth year."

"Is that so?" Naruto said not believing him for a second.

"Then you know all about these exams then?" Kiba questioned.

"Of course," Kabuto said whipping out some cards, "If you want I can share some valuable information for you about some of the competitors taking place in the exams. These are my Ninja Info cards."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the cards in the man's hands and shook Ino off him, "Then you have cards with individual info on them?"

Kabuto smiled, "Worried about someone? Of course the info I have on some of the competitors aren't all that perfect but I have them. Even on all of you guys. Just tell me who your target is and I'll tell you."

"Gaara no Sabaku, Rock Lee, and…Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke replied.

The rookies were curious as to why he wanted to know about his own teammate.

"Oh poo, you know their names already, takes the fun out of it." Kabuto said shuffling the cards, only bringing three out holding them away from Sasuke.

"Just show me." Sasuke demanded.

"Quite impatient aren't you?" Kabuto smiled reading out the first card, "I'll start with Rock Lee, he's a year older than you all. Mission History: 85 completed D-rank missions and 13 completed C-rank missions. Sensei is Might Guy, teammates are Tenten Higurashi and Neji Hyūga. While his Taijutsu skills are off the charts, his skills in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are nonexistent."

He read the other card. While he was doing that Sasuke and Sakura looked over at their blonde teammate who was talking to Hinata, did he know that Lee used nothing but Taijutsu? If so did why didn't he tell them?

"Next is Gaara Sabaku, youngest child of the Kazekage. Mission History: 18 completed C-rank missions, 6 completed B-rank, and 4 completed A-rank missions without getting a single scratch on him. His teammates are Temari and Kankuro Sabaku who are also his siblings. I must say I'm impressed." Kabuto said.

Naruto who was listening was impressed himself, but now that he thought about it for his first C-rank or should he say A-rank missions he didn't get a single scratch himself but its best to keep that to himself.

"And lastly Naruto Uzumaki…" Kabuto revealed the card and was about to give them information when the card in his hand was shredded into four pieces all of a sudden taking everyone by surprise.

Naruto who had his sword sheathed halfway sealed it back silently, "Seishuku Senkō (Silent Flash)." He muttered quietly.

Hinata saw he cut the card up but said nothing and simply smiled. Naruto went back to talking to her ignoring the looks he was getting from the rookies and the other ninja's gathered there wondering if he was the one responsible for cutting up the card but seeing him just casually talking with Hinata they threw that idea out the window but the ninja's from Iwa, Kumo, and Suna knew it was him. They just didn't see him do it. Kabuto knew as well and smirked knowing that his lord picked the right candidate.

Kabuto simply ignored the destroyed card and smiled, "Even though there are a lot of competitors here taking the exams, you don't have to worry about the ninjas from Otogakure. Their relatively a new and minor village that no one knows about anyway. There are only top ninja here." As he finished saying that three blurs came at him, he dodged the first two the female with the long black hair, and male with black spikey hair, but for the bandaged one it appeared that he missed Kabuto but that was tossed out the window when he coughed up blood and fell to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Sakura helped him up.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine." Kabuto cleared the blood from his throat.

Naruto heard it. There was a ringing sound coming off from the one of the Oto ninja. Sound waves, huh? Good thing he brought his earplugs with him.

The one with the spikey black hair smirked, "Write this down in your little info cards. The ninja from Oto are strongest ones here!"

After that little scene there was a puff of smoke that got their attention. There stood a man wearing a blue headband on his head, scars on his face, long black trench coat gray uniform and gloves.

"Shut up you maggots!" the man bellowed shutting them up, "You! Oto nin in the back! Do you want to get disqualified before the exams even begin?!"

"Sorry, we were a little too excited." The one with the bandages apologized.

He glared hard at the three then looked around the room, "The names Ibiki Morino, I am the examiner for the written portion of the exams. I'm going to say this only once, any fighting during this portion will not be tolerated. Disobey that rule and I'll make you wish you stayed in your old man's sack, understood?"

The Genin present nodded their heads. Naruto felt that the man was dangerous and he'd be right. The guy was oozing sadism.

"The rest of the proctors in the room will show you your seating arraignments, once you've sat down I'll explain the rules." Ibiki said.

The proctors led the Genin to their arraigned seats and Naruto felt the familiar chakra of Hinata sitting next to him making him smile. He wondered what he was going to do about the written part of the test since he couldn't see then got an idea. Before Ibiki could explain the rules he pulled out a kunai tossing it without anyone noticing aiming right at the door to the room making it blow up a little bit getting their attention. He felt three chakra signature leave the room making him smirk. He had already done what he needed to do, now all he had to do was wait. He felt Kurama's laughter and Asura's sigh while shaking his head. The other proctors remaining in the room handed out the test papers to the Genin present and he got his. This should be interesting.

Ibiki looked around the room wondering who threw it but the Genin looked completely surprised almost shocked. He merely started explaining the rules, "Listen up! Before we begin the exams I'm gonna explain the rules. Questions will not be tolerated and I'm not gonna repeat myself either, so don't bother asking."

Naruto sweat-dropped, _'Must be the no nonsense type.'_

"First rule: You maggots will start off with 10 points instead of 0. The test is made up of ten questions with each one worth a single point. If you answer the questions correctly you get to keep your 10 points, but if you get a question wrong then you lose a point."

"Second rule: This is also a team test. Whether you pass or not depends on how your whole team does."

"Third rule: Anyone caught cheating five times by the proctors will be immediately disqualified."

One of the proctors looked smug, "We'll be watching you like hawks, so don't even think about cheating."

Everyone present in the room gulped.

 _'_ _Something's not right about that rule. Why tell us this unless…they want us to cheat! No they want us to cheat without getting caught. Good thing I set everything up after causing the distraction earlier.'_ Naruto thought.

"One last thing," Ibiki smirked, "If one of you is caught cheating five times then your whole team fails!"

Sasuke's eyes grew wide.

 _'_ _WHAT'D HE SAY?!'_ Sakura yelled inwardly.

"Now begin!" Ibiki said.

Naruto flipped the paper over waiting for his clone to get to work.

One of the Chūnin pretending to be one of the people taking the test was waving an annoying fly away from him, it finally landed on the table giving him the opportunity to smash it with his hand, "Stupid fly." He grumbled. Little did he know that the fly he just squished was one of Naruto's clones that Henge'd into a fly, and as soon as he smashed it the information it gathered was transferred to Naruto who began writing the answers down going by the memory he received from the clone.

Sakura was freaking out, _'What are we gonna do?! Naruto-baka's completely blind and can't see the questions at all!'_ she looked over at her blonde teammate and saw he was writing on his paper, _'What are you doing Naruto-baka?! Stop scribbling on your test!'_

Naruto was completely calm and answered the questions he received from his clone. As soon as the proctor told them where to sit Naruto had taken out a kunai that already had a paper bomb on it. Tossing it quickly at the door causing a small explosion that took the door off the hinges making some of the proctors run out of the room seeing if they were being attacked and causing a distraction. While everyone else was distracted by what happened he quickly created a Shadow Clone and had it Henge into a fly instructing it to wait at the right moment to get to work. As soon as Ibiki got done explaining the rules the clone went over by the Chūnin disguised as one of the examinees that already had all of the answers on their paper and hovered around him for about a good 2 minutes before it was dispelled and sent the information over to Naruto who quickly got to work.

He smirked inwardly, _'Plan successful.'_

Ibiki was staring right at the blonde intrigued that he was writing down on his paper and went over by him in curiosity. Walking over by the boy he saw that the answers he was writing down were indeed correct! He couldn't help the smirk that came on his face, he was told that there was an interesting Genin among the Rookies and was curious to see who it was and to his surprise it was this blonde Genin who was freaking blind!

 _'_ _These exams just got more interesting.'_ He smirked walking back eager to see what else the blonde had in store for him.

Naruto stopped at question 9 because the Chūnin he just copied left it blank and so will he.

Next to him Hinata had her Byakugan activated, Sasuke has his Sharingan active copying the hand movements of the person before him. Gaara closed his eyes creating a third eye to cheat, Kiba had Akamaru give him answers, Tenten was using a mirror to give Lee the answers. Kankuro excused himself to go to the bathroom but left his little puppet behind, Shikamaru was using his shadow jutsu to answer for both him and Choji, Sakura was using her own power to answer the question while Ino used her clan's jutsu to take over her mind and steal the answers.

Just as Hinata finished a kunai flew past her and Naruto hitting a desk in front of them.

"You there! You've been caught cheating 5 times, you and your team are done." One of the proctors said.

Hinata's heart was beating quickly but feeling Naruto's hand on top of hers calmed her down.

"No way! What do you mean I cheated five times where's your proof?!" the sand Genin complained only to be slammed into a wall.

"Don't question us you little punk," the man smirked, "You can't even blink without us seeing it." The Genin slid down on the ground and was dragged out of the room, his team following him.

Naruto closed his eyes, _'Who knew that a simple written test could be so mentally exhausting.'_

"Pencils down!" Ibiki called out. Everyone put their pencils down, the door slid open and in came Kankuro, "Welcome back, hope your little trip was…fun." He eyed the boy with a smirk.

Kankuro panicked a little but took his seat, _'Damn! He knows!'_

"Now then, time for the final question." Ibiki announced, "The last question of the test is whether you decide to answer it or not. Should you choose not to your score will be an automatic 0, meaning you and your team have failed."

This shocked some of the Genin present except for Naruto and Gaara because there was another reason for this.

"Of course we'll answer the last question!" Kiba yelled.

Ibiki chuckled darkly, "You say that now, but when I tell you the rest you'll be changing your tone. Should you decide to answer the question but fail to answer it correctly then you will be forbidden to take the Chūnin Exams ever again."

"What the hell kind of rule is that?!" Kiba yelled, "There have been people who failed the exams before and came back to take them over again!" he was referring to Kabuto.

"You guys are unlucky this year," Ibiki told them uncaring, "I'm in charge of the first part of the exams this year, so that means I make the rules. If you feel like you can't take it then leave by raising your hand."

It was quiet for a minute before a Genin raised his hand, "I-I quit…I'm sorry you guys."

"You fail." The proctor said as the Genin and his team left. One by one more Genin started quitting, leaving the room.

Naruto could sense that Hinata was becoming unsure of herself in whether to stay or leave so he placed a hand on her leg. He sensed that she was feeling a little better because of the contact. He wanted her to advance and become Chūnin.

Ibiki looked around at those who stayed, "To the ones that are still in this room…congratulations you all pass!"

Silence.

"WHAT?!" Sakura screamed making everyone cover their ears at her loud voice.

Naruto moved getting everyone's attention, they saw him take his earplugs out his ears and put them in his pocket making some of the proctors snicker as well as some of the Genin present in the room who were trying to hold in their laughter. Even Ibiki snorted.

 _'_ _This kids a damn riot.'_ He smirked.

Sakura made a mental note to get Naruto back for that later, "What about the 10th question?"

"There wasn't a 10th question to begin with," he smirked, "You could say that it was based on your decision whether to stay or leave."

"Wait a minute!" Temari yelled, "Then what was the point in us answering these questions then?! Was it all pointless?!"

"No, the questions you answered served their purpose well," Ibiki told her, "The purpose of this test was to test your information gathering skills, and I think it worked out well," he eyed Naruto, "Some of you already figured it out and got right to it without even getting caught. The purpose of this test was to make you cheat. Only one of you noticed the two Chūnin that were hiding amongst you but I think I'll keep that Genin's name to myself. I'll explain the purpose of the written exam, in a mission you will have to gather information to help your team succeed and complete the mission. You also need to know that getting the wrong information will cost you and your team their lives." He proved this by taking his headband off.

Naruto felt Hinata grab his hand from underneath the table squeezing it slightly making the blonde wonder what was wrong.

 _"_ _The man has taken off his headband revealing his many scars. How horrible." Asura said sadly._

 _'_ _How bad is it?' Naruto asked._

 ** _"_** ** _Like someone used his head a way of relieving stress." Kurama stated._**

 _'_ _Got it.' Naruto said._

"This is what can happen to you if you get the wrong information. Not only will you suffer scars like these but you'll also be forced to spill the beans because the pain is too much to handle. Th purpose of the 10th question was to see if you had the guts to stay, and it looks like you lot passed the test. Your resolve. The First part of the exam is over, good luck in the next part." Ibiki smiled.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, _'Looks like everything worked out, and Hinata-chan didn't have to leave.'_ His senses went off all of a sudden making him look to his left getting Ibiki's attention making the man smirk, _'Kid must sense that Anko is coming. Being able to sense a person that quickly, that's some skill.'_

Suddenly the window exploded and in came a woman with light brown, pupil-less eyes and violent hair which is styled in a short, spiky, fanned-ponytail. Wearing a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam and a pocket on each side, a dark orange mini-skirt, a dark blue belt, and pale grey shin guards. Her forehead protector was wrapped around her forehead. There was a banner right behind her, "There's no time for you to be relaxed you maggots! The sexy Anko Mitarashi has arrived!" she did a pose.

Ibiki rolled his eyes, "Anko, your early."

Anko eyed those who were left, "Heh, there's still a few here left. Your losing your touch Ibiki."

The man actually smiled, "There are some impressive ones this year."

"Oh really?" she eyed them with a predatory smirk, "We'll see about that. Follow me you maggots! Time for the Second Part of the Exam! Meet me at Training Ground 44!" she jumped out the window.

Everyone looked each other unsure of whether they should follow her or not, they heard someone get up and saw it was Naruto but instead of heading for the door he opened the window and sped off making their eyes widen especially the Rookies.

 _'_ _That idiot!'_ Shikamaru thought following after Naruto. He may have good senses but still. The rest of the Konoha Genin followed after him while the rest either took the window or the door.

Ibiki sighed then walked over to gather the tests, he looked at Naruto's and saw he had wrote something at the top of the paper. It was a little messy but the kid was blind so he couldn't really blame him.

 _Ibiki-san._

 _The man claiming to be a Genin of Konoha is named Kabuto Yakushi, but I don't remember sensing him around the village at all. There was also something else I sensed about him but the most obvious was the fact his aura felt cold, manipulative, and calculating…like a snake._

 _-Naruto Uzumaki_

The man's eyes widened. He immediately put the boy's paper in his pocket and took off quickly heading straight towards the Hokage's office.

 _'_ _Damn! If the kids right then that means he's here!'_ Ibiki thought.

* * *

 **Next Time:** **Enter The Forest of Death.**


	7. Enter: The Forest of Death

Naruto and his team enter the Forest of Death which is the Second Part of the Exam. There he senses a sinister presences that has him on edge, while also having to worry about the ninja's from Iwagakure. What will happen within the forest?

* * *

Anko arrived at Training Ground 44 with a huge smirk on her face waiting for the poor bastards to show up. To her surprise the first one to appear was a blonde kid with a cane in his hand.

Anko stared at the kid, _'What the hell?! He's blind?!'_

Naruto blinked getting a dark foreboding feeling from the forest next to him. He had heard horror stories about Training Ground 44 or 'The Forest of Death' as some people called it, and for good reason. There were some reported deaths that all came from this forest and now he and his team will have to take the second part of the exam in this death forest. Great.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata landed and ran towards him, "You shouldn't run off like that! You have to be more careful."

Naruto sighed, "You worry too much."

"Mou, Naruto-kun." Hinata sighed herself.

Anko grinned, _'Heh, what's this? A lover's spat? I love drama!'_

Shikamaru landed along with Choji, "Troublesome blonde."

Choji laughed nervously.

The rest of the rookies including his own team showed up, while the rest of the ninja came not too long after them making Anko smirk, "Now that you maggots are here let's get down to business! This here is Training Ground 44, also known as…The Forest of Death!"

Sakura shivered at the name, _'Why does the second part of the exam have to be this?!'_

"It doesn't look all that bad to me." Kiba commented with Akamaru agreeing with him with a bark.

Anko smirked as she launched at the boy tossing a kunai that scratched his cheek, already appearing behind him with another kunai right to his throat, "It's always the loud ones that die first." She smirked licking the blood off from his cheek.

Kiba shivered at the woman's tone as did Akamaru.

Anko sensed movement behind her, turning around she saw it was a Genin from Kusa who had the first kunai she threw in her long tongue, "Excuse me, but I believe this is yours proctor-san."

Anko eyed her for a second then smiled, "Thanks, and word of advice. I suggest you be more careful, its not smart to sneak up from behind. I might kill you."

The Kusa Genin smiled, "My apologies, the sight of blood has me a little bit excited. Also, your kunai cut my hair as well." she handed Anko the kunai and backed away.

Naruto gripped his cane as soon as he sensed the person talking to Anko. The aura he felt off her was the same as Kabuto's but much more potent and just plain dangerous.

 _'_ _Its best we avoid her at all cost. I feel the same thing as I did when I was around Kabuto…snakes.'_ He frowned.

"Well well, looks like we've got some bloodthirsty ones this year," Anko commented appearing back in her original spot, "Listen up! For this part of the exams each team will receive either the scroll of Earth of Heaven. In order to pass you need to obtain both scrolls and reach the tower that's in the middle of the forest to pass."

"So out of all the teams here about half could pass, huh?" Naruto said.

"Heh, that would be on a good day," Anko smirked, "Normally, less than half of the teams here would pass. Part of it because of the forest or just plain bad luck. The most important rule is that you don't open the scrolls until you reach the tower."

"Why is that?" Sasuke asked.

"Because that would be telling," Anko grinned, "You'll be in the forest for about five days."

"Five days?! What about food?!" Choji freaked out.

"Your on your own in that department big boy," Anko shrugged, "The forest has plenty of food from animals to plants, just make sure they don't come after _you_. Oh yeah, each of you are to sign these forms." She held a stack of papers up and the proctors gave them all out to the Genin present.

"What are these?" Kurotsuchi questioned.

"The papers in your hands are waivers that state that Konoha is not responsible for your deaths, because some of you will end up dying in the forest." She stated nonchalantly.

Sakura was hesitating in whether to sign it or not. She had plenty of time to back out of the exams during the written portion of the test, but when she made eye contact with Sasuke in the room it looked like he was glaring at her. Telling her that she better not drop out, she looked over at Naruto and he was encouraging Hinata to stay by putting his hand over hers or on her leg making her smile and calm down. She didn't know why but for some reason she felt sad that he supported Hinata instead of her and couldn't figure out why.

The teams gave Anko the forms after they signed the waivers. She went over to a small booth that had the intercom system and left the Genin to themselves for awhile.

* * *

"So how do you wanna do this?" the Iwa ninja asked Kurotsuchi.

"We ambush them in the forest," she said, "We ignore his two teammates and just go after him instead, remember he doesn't leave the forest alive."

Akatsuchi was getting a bad feeling about this, "We should still be careful Kurotsuchi, N."

N snorted, "I'm not worried about the rest of these weaklings, but that Kusa Genin gave me a bad vibe."

"Ignore her. We have an important mission to fulfill." She said glaring at the blonde who had his back turned to her, _'I'll kill you and bring your head to gramps! That's a promise!'_

* * *

"So what do we do?" Karui asked Yugito.

"We do nothing until further notice. That is what Killer Bee-sensei has told me." Yugito told them.

Omoi was looking over at the Iwa ninjas, "We might wanna keep an eye on them too. It looks like they're after the kid."

Karui had a hand on he tanto, "We'll deal with them, right Yugito-nee-chan?"

"We will." Yugito eyed them.

* * *

Kagura was watching from afar along with Haruto, she could feel the negative emotions coming off of the Iwa nin, "Nii-sama…how shall we deal with them?"

Haruto stared at them, "Show them no mercy." He stated coldly.

"Understood."

* * *

Naruto felt the emotions of everyone present.

So far, he had to worry about Iwa the most because Kumo he sensed was going to go after them, for what reason? He didn't know.

 _'_ _I'll have to draw them to a secluded area and figure out what to do from there.'_ He thought.

Sakura looked over her shoulder and saw the female ninja from Iwa was staring at them, no, she was glaring at them, "Why's she glaring at us?" she shivered.

"Ignore her." Naruto told her.

"The dope's right," Sasuke said, "If they have a problem we'll just take them down."

Naruto had his doubts about that. They weren't exactly pushovers, and neither are those from Kumo.

 ** _"_** ** _Alright you maggots! Its time to start the Second part of the exams! I have one last piece of advice for you…don't die."_** Anko's voice told them over the intercom.

Naruto sweat-dropped, _'How encouraging.'_

The gates opened and all of the participants raced in making Anko smirk. She wondered how many would come out alive, and how many would die? Should be interesting.

* * *

Team 7 was currently jumping from the tree branches trying to find some teams at leas but so far they haven't come across any at all. Sasuke decided to act as team leader, even looking over at Naruto as if challenging him to say something but the blonde had other things on his mind, like Iwa, Kumo, and that other ninja from earlier. He felt the woman's stare on them and had to suppress a shiver that went down his spine. Just what the hell could that woman want with them? Once again, he didn't want to know.

They stopped and stood on top of a branch.

"What should we do?" Sakura questioned.

"Isn't it obvious? We search for some teams." Sasuke snorted at her question.

Naruto silently made a shadow clone, "I sense a team not that far from us. Go." He whispered.

The shadow clone nodded and went off to get to work. They had an Earth Scroll and needed a Heaven Scroll. Hopefully the team he sensed has one and they can get the hell out of this forest as quickly as possible.

 **With the Shadow Clone**

An Ame team were currently walking through the forest looking for any teams to ambush and take their scroll from them. Amegakure had sent two teams this year to improve their chances.

The Shadow Clone saw them walking around the Forest completely unaware that they were being watched. Shaking its head the clone got to work, Snake → Rat → Dragon → Dog → Tiger: "Mokuton: Jubaku Eisō (Wood Style: Tree Bind Eternal Burial)." The clone muttered.

As soon as the Ame ninja took another step forward they found their limbs wrapped up in vines then three giant trees grew from the ground wrapping around them and constricting their movements completely.

"W-What is this?!" one of them yelled.

"Can't move!" the other said.

"Dammit!" said the last one.

The clone jumped down from the tree walking over to them ignoring their glares, he went towards the one on the middle having one of the trunks move so he could inspect the males pocket and sure enough he did find a scroll. Looking at it, the clone smiled and saw that they had a Heavens Scroll. Just what they needed.

"Thanks." The clone said disappearing and leaving them there ignoring their curses and threats. It meant nothing if the idiots couldn't move.

 **With Team 7**

Naruto was sitting down lotus style much to his teammates annoyance. They don't have any time to waste, they needed to find a team so they could get a Heaven Scroll.

"Naruto-baka stop wasting time already!" Sakura yelled.

The blonde ignored her and stood up once he sensed his clone was near, "Looks like he found what we needed."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto's Shadow Clone landed before them making the two jump but the blonde simply smirked, "Welcome back."

"What? But how? I didn't even see you summon a Shadow Clone!" Sakura said in confusion.

"I summoned it while you two were talking about if we should find a team to ambush," Naruto explained, "How was it?" the blonde asked.

The Shadow Clone showed them the Heaven Scroll with a smirk, "Mission accomplished. They had a Heavens Scroll."

"What team did you ambush?" Sakura asked.

"There were some Ame ninja nearby who let their guards down completely so I ambushed them and took their scroll while leaving them there." The Shadow Clone explained looking at Naruto.

Naruto nodded, "Got it, thanks."

The Shadow Clone nodded giving the scroll to the blonde as the original dispelled the clone.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that they got a scroll already. Sasuke wasn't too pleased at all wanting to test out his Sharingan out on any teams that would ambush them but Naruto had prevented that.

"Since we have the scroll we need we can go the tower now." Sakura smiled.

"Yeah…" Sasuke said.

Naruto was relieved they could go now, but that was soon dashed when he sensed something coming and acted quickly, Rat → Dog → Tiger: "Mokuton: Mokujōheki (Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu)!" a giant wood dome appeared protecting them from a high wind velocity, the dome had some cracks in it showing just how strong the attack was.

"W-What was that?!" Sakura exclaimed.

Naruto cursed, "It has to be her. That ninja from earlier."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke questioned.

"When the proctor threw her kunai at Kiba a ninja gave it back to her," Naruto said trying to calm his nerves but failing, "It was that female ninja, something's off about her." He took the dome down.

Proven right, it was the Kusa ninja from before that was standing in front of them with an eerie smirk on her face.

"Kufufu, very good Naruto-kun. You used that well." the licked her lips.

The blonde suppressed a shudder that went down his spine, _'There is something seriously wrong with this person. Who is she?'_

"W-Who are you?!" Sakura yelled in fear.

Sasuke would never admit that he was scared himself.

The Kusa woman simply smiled and sent a burst of KI in their direction making Sakura almost want to faint because of the sheer intensity, Sasuke was breathing hard, and Naruto gripped his cane trying to stay standing.

 _'_ _Dammit! Kurama!'_ Naruto glared.

 ** _"_** ** _Already on it." Kurama growled._**

Kurama's chakra covered the blonde covering him from the woman's KI and sending it towards the woman who started chuckling, Sasuke took out a kunai and stabbed himself in the leg to break the KI and calm down. It worked. Sakura was still conscious by some miracle.

"Very good," the woman smiled bringing a hand up to her face and ripping it off much to Sasuke and Sakura's disturbance, "You two will do well." she ripped it off completely revealing a man with white pale skin, purple markings, and yellow eyes, "Since you've entertained me so well I suppose I should humor you and tell you my name. I am…Orochimaru."

Naruto's blood ran cold, "Orochimaru…one of the Legendary Sannin!" what the hell was Orochimaru doing here in the exams?!

Sasuke was thinking the same thing as Naruto, as was Sakura. They stood absolutely no chance against this person. Compared to Kakashi and Zabuza, this guys S-rank to Hokage level compared to a Jounin like Kakashi, Yamato, and Zabuza. They had to run!

Sasuke was the first to act, Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger: "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)!" he sent fireballs towards the Sannin prompting Orochimaru to dodge easily without much effort. When Orochimaru looked back up he smiled and sensed they were moving far away making him smirk.

"It won't be that easy." Orochimaru smiled giving chase, unknown to him he was being watched by two individuals who followed after him.

* * *

Anko was eating her favorite food in the world. Dango's.

So far she hadn't heard any screams of bloody murder coming from within the forest yet but it was only a matter of time.

"Anko-san!" a proctor approached making her look at him.

"What's up?" she raised a brow.

He gave her a grim look, "There's something you need to see."

Anko stared at the bodies of the three dead Kusa ninja, "What the hell? Their faces are gone."

"Who could have done this?" the proctor next to her wondered.

Inspecting their blank faces a bit more she came to a conclusion, _'This could only be him!'_ she thought, "Go and alert the Hokage! We've got a snake here!"

The man nodded and disappeared leaving only Anko who went into the forest to confront the man of her past, "Orochimaru!" she growled.

* * *

Team 7 were running by jumping from tree to tree. There was no way in hell they were going to go up against Orochimaru one of the Legendary Sannin! But for some reason Naruto had a feeling that they would be forced to anyway, why does he think that you ask? Simple. Because Orochimaru was following right after them and coming very quickly!

Naruto clenched his teeth, "He's coming! And fast too!"

"What'll we do?!" Sakura asked fearfully.

Sasuke clenched his fists and stopped making them stop too, "We've got no choice. We're gonna have to fight him."

"What?! But we can't!" Sakura protested.

"We don't have any other choice," Naruto stated still not liking their predicament, "He'll just keep coming after us no mater ho far we run. Maybe we can stall him or hopefully catch him off guard long enough to get as far away as possible."

Sasuke had his kunai out ready for the Sannin, while Naruto unsheathed his blade tossing the scabbard over at Sakura who looked at the two. Sasuke looked back at her, "You'd just be in the way. Go and hide."

"Sasuke's right, you need to get to a safe distance." Naruto told her.

Sakura wanted to protest but couldn't because she knew they were right. She was facing the hard truth before her, and that was…she was weak. Shutting her eyes tightly she jumped off the tree branch and hid in the bushes nearby.

She had never felt so useless as she did right now.

Naruto gripped his blade, "He's here." Just as he said that the snake Sannin appeared right before them with that snake like smile of his.

"Done running?" Orochimaru taunted.

Naruto said nothing and got ready for the fight of his life. He wasn't arrogant enough to believe he stood a chance against one of the legendary Sannin. Secretly he was praying that Ibiki-sensei saw his message, prompting him to send some people in the forest to help them. Guess he'll see.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, entertain me." Orochimaru charged at them going after Sasuke first to just barely dodged the kick sent his way and tried to stab the Sannin in his side but he grabbed the boys wrist. Before Orochimaru could do anything Naruto came at him next.

"Senkō (Flash)!" Naruto slashed his other side and heard a 'poof' then a 'thud,' _'Kawarimi!'_ he barely dodged a punched that was sent at him and jumped away to get some distance, _'That was too close! This isn't like how it was with Zabuza! He's toying with us I just know it!'_

Sasuke appeared next to the blonde, "You got a plan?"

"Not this time," Naruto said, "I doubt he's the type to be outsmarted especially by two Genin. I just hope that help comes otherwise we're screwed."

Sasuke grit his teeth, "Damn."

Orochimaru smirked at them, "Very good you two, entertain me more."

The Uchiha heir glared at the man and gave him what he wanted, Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger: "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)!" he sent a giant fireball at the Sannin who merely smiled. As soon as the fireball made contact the Sannin stared at them before dissolving into mud making Sasuke's eyes widen, "He dissolved into mud?!"

 _'_ _It was an earth clone! Where is he?!'_ Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated on where he might be before his senses went off, "Above!" he grabbed Sasuke jumping back from the Sannin who still had that smirk on his face.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Well done, Sasuke-kun," he eyed Naruto, "You as well Naruto-kun, but why not show me what you can _really_ do?"

Sweat poured down from the blonde's forehead, "I'll pass, thanks."

"What do you want with us?!" Sasuke demanded.

Orochimaru smiled, "Why to give you both your gifts of course."

"Gifts?" Naruto questioned.

Orochimaru licked his lips, "You'll love it."

Sasuke and Naruto's spines shivered even though the blonde didn't see him lick his lips, but he felt uncomfortable as hell, _'No! Just…no!'_

Orochimaru stretched his arm out, "Sen'ei Tajashu (Multiple Striking Shadow Snakes)." He sent multiple snakes at the boys.

Naruto sensed them and got to work, Tiger → Horse → Tiger → Snake: "Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Giant Forest Jutsu)!" he sent wood trees at the snakes getting them and allowing Sasuke to charge at the Sannin by running on the blondes arm and using pure Taijutsu at Orochimaru who smiled at the boy and humored him by using Taijutsu himself but in reality he was only toying with Sasuke as well as testing him.

"Is that all Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru taunted kicking the boy away from him, "If that's all you can do then you'll never be strong enough to kill Itachi."

Sasuke's Sharingan flared at the mention of Itachi causing him to shoot at Orochimaru ignoring Naruto's call to calm down.

 _'_ _Dammit! Orochimaru's bating him!'_ Naruto thought.

 ** _"_** ** _Hmph, more like their clan are just easy to anger." Kurama stated._**

 _'_ _So not the time right now.'_ Naruto's eyebrow twitched.

Sasuke was sent back by the Sannin and saw he was no longer before him and looked around, "Dammit! Where is he?"

"Sasuke above you!" Naruto yelled having sensed the snake man was above him teammate.

Sasuke heard the warning a little too late as he found his neck being pierced by the Snake Sannin's fangs making him cry out in pain. Orochimaru took his fangs out of the boy's neck and watched in satisfaction as the black mark appeared on his neck, "I hope you enjoy your gift, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke said nothing as he passed out from the intense pain. Orochimaru then set his sights on Naruto, "Now then," he disappeared then reappeared behind the blonde hitting him in the back only for him to turn into wood and shatter upon contact making his eyes widen with glee, "Moku Bunshin (Wood Clone)! Very good!"

Naruto appeared by Sasuke's unconscious form along with a Shadow Clone, he sensed there was something dark around Sasuke no thanks to Orochimaru but since he couldn't see he had no idea what it was. All he knew was that it was dark.

 _'_ _Just what did he do to him?'_ Naruto wondered.

"Boss he's coming!" The Shadow Clone yelled.

Naruto sensed the Sannin was coming right at him and gave his sword over to the clone and quickly made the hand signs, Bird → Hare → Serpent: "Mokuton: Jukai Heki (Wood Style: Tree Wall Barrier)!" countless wood branches grew at high speeds from the ground, the branches interlocking forming a net-like wall that stopped Orochimaru in his path but he simply smiled.

"Such an impressive specimen you are Naruto-kun," Orochimaru licked his lips, "I can't wait to mark you."

Naruto and his Shadow Clone grabbed Sasuke and took off to find Sakura seeing as how they were pretty far. After a minute Naruto sensed were she was hiding and brought Sasuke to her laying him down before her.

"Sasuke-kun! What happened?!" Sakura asked fearfully.

Naruto gave his blade over to his Shadow Clone, "I'm running low on chakra…I don't know what else to do right now. He must've done something to Sasuke but I can't tell what it is."

Sakura inspected Sasuke and saw what looked like a mark on his neck, "He put something on his neck, it looks like a mark."

Naruto sat down groggily, he used up a lot of chakra, first against those Ame ninja, and now against Orochimaru one of the legendary Sannin. Using both Mokuton: Jubaku Eisō (Wood Style: Tree Bind Eternal Burial) and Mokuton: Jukai Heki (Wood Style: Tree Wall Barrier) took a lot out of him and he needed to rest.

 _'_ _I'm tired…and I cant rest because Orochimaru's probably looking for us right now. Dammit!'_ Naruto thought.

 _"_ _Naruto, I'm going to transfer some of my chakra over to you." Asura told him._

 _'_ _You can do that?'_ Naruto thought.

 _"_ _I can. Just relax." Asura told him._

Sakura watched as her blond teammate closed his eyes and white chakra began to envelope him as he closed his eyes, _'W-What is that?!'_ the white chakra dissipated and Naruto opened his eyes.

"I feel a little better, but we still stand no chance. We need a miracle." Naruto stated.

"N-Naruto…just now what was that?" Sakura asked slowly.

"Such an interesting thing you've just shown me Naruto-kun." Orochimaru appeared before them walking over to the Genin.

 _'_ _Damn, he found us quick!'_ Naruto thought.

Sakura held Sasuke close to her as she watched the Sannin come closer and closer to them and shut her eyes fearfully. Just then two figure appeared wearing black robes standing in front of both Naruto and Sakura blocking them from Orochimaru.

Naruto only just now felt their presence, _'I didn't even sense them until just now! Are they after us too?!'_

Both of the figures charged at Orochimaru at impressive speed the smaller of the two landing a kick to his face sending him backwards and wet after the snake Sannin, while the tallest turn to them, "We shall deal with him. Please get to safety." The male figure bowed then followed after his partner leaving two confused Genin behind.

"Who were they…?" Sakura wondered.

Naruto sighed taking his sword back from his clone looking completely spent, "Doesn't matter now. We need to find some shelter." The clone took Sasuke from Sakura putting him on its back as they stood up, "We need a big tree or something to take cover in."

Sakura nodded and led the two to find a tree big enough to hide them in for a while and hopefully give them time to rest up. Hopefully.

* * *

Orochimaru was having a hard time with the two unknown individuals that prevented him from marking Naruto. He stared at the two sensing they were much more stronger than him and just as vicious. Interesting.

"Wretched snake," the female growled, "We will not let you taint the Uzumaki!"

"Indeed." Her partner said from behind Orochimaru taking him by surprise making him disappear and reappear to a different tree branch. He stared at the two his instincts telling him to run and never look back and for once he listened. Using some hand signs he sunk into the branch his presence gone from the two.

"Hmph, coward." Haruto said pulling his hood down.

"I would have loved to devour that snake, but oh well. We protected the Uzumaki and that's what important." Kagura smiled.

Haruto frowned, "Not yet. There are still those Iwa ninja we need to deal with, no doubt they've already found his whereabouts by now. Come." He disappeared.

"Yes, nii-sama." She followed after him.

* * *

Currently with the Iwa ninja they already got an Earth scroll and were now trying to find Naruto and his team, but so far they had no such luck.

"Dammit! Where the hell are they?!" Kurotsuchi growled.

"Calm down, Kurotsuchi. We'll find them." Akatsuchi told her.

N was trying to sense them but so far got nothing, "I can't sense them, maybe-" he was cut off when something crashed into him making him fall down to the ground.

"N!" Kurotsuchi yelled letting her guard down and getting hit with something herself, as did Akatsuchi making them fall to the ground along with their teammate. Standing up and getting into battle positions they saw it was two individuals wearing black hoods that covered their faces.

"We found them, nii-sama~" Kagura smiled.

"So it would seem." Haruto commented.

"Who the hell are you?!" Kurotsuchi demanded.

Kagura simply smiled, "We will not allow you to harm the Uzumaki."

Kurotsuchi glared at her, "Shut up!" she roared making the Bird hand sign, "Doton: Doryūsō (Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears)!" earth spikes protruded from the ground heading right towards them.

Kagura simply smiled holding both palms out in front of her, "Hakke Kūhekishō (Eight Trigrams Air Palm Wall)." Sending a powerful burst wave of chakra towards the attack it shattered the spikes heading right towards the three who were too slow to get out of the way in time sending them flying away from the two.

Kurotsuchi got up slowly, "D-Dammit! Who are these two?!" her eyes widened as Kagura appeared before her.

Kagura smiled, "Hakke Hyaku Nijūhachi Shō (Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms)." She moved two fingers at Kurotsuchi hitting her tenketsu.

"Ni Shō (Two Palms)."

"Yon Shō (Four Palms)."

"Hachi Shō (Eight Palms)."

"Jūroku Shō (Sixteen Palms)."

"Sanjūni Shō (Thirty-Two Palms)."

"Rokujūyon Shō (Sixty-Four Palms)."

"Hyaku Nijūhachi Shō (One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms)."

Sending the final strike towards the Iwa kunoichi she coughed up blood and was sent back rolling on the ground a few times before coming to a stop.

"Kurotsuchi!" Akatsuchi and N yelled going over to her. Akatsuchi checked her pulse and felt that she was indeed still breathing much to his relief.

"It's okay, she's still breathing." He sighed in relief.

"Just what the hell was that?!" N looked over at the two.

Kagura was still smiling as she looked at the two conscious males as was Haruto, "We will let you off with a simple warning for now, but make no mistake that if you threaten the Uzumaki's life again you will die by our hands. The hands of the Ōtsutsuki." And with that they disappeared leaving a wide-eyed Akatsuchi and a confused N.

 _'_ _Ōtsutsuki?! The mysterious group that's been seen around each Elemental Nation?! Why are they protecting the Yellow Flash's son?!'_ Akatsuchi thought in fear. They were told of this group and how they seem to know every ninjutsu to ever be created. Everyone feared them, and now here they are in Konoha. This is not good.

* * *

Naruto was keeping guard outside the giant tree they managed to find while Sakura tended to Sasuke, wiping his forehead and making sure his fever didn't get too high. Naruto had his clones go and get some plants that could help with putting his fever down and to his surprise the clones found some flowers that would do the trick. Sakura watched as Naruto and the clones prepared some medicine via plants by crushing them with a rock they found somewhere and made it into paste, placing it on a white cloth and placing it on Sasuke's forehead. To her surprise about 5 minutes later his fever went down a little thanks to the plants the clones found, they did bring some water so she could wipe his forehead of any sweat that might have gathered.

Sakura stared at her blonde teammate in wonder once again, in the past she truly believed that he was trying to show Sasuke up but looking at him now she realized that she wrong. _Way_ wrong. During some of the missions they took after Nami no Kuni, no it was during the mission Naruto didn't hesitate to protect them despite how she treated him. Yes, she admitted that the way she treated Naruto was no different than what the girls back in the Academy used to treat her when she was a child. A bully. She even called him out on not being actually blind, and thinking back on it now made her realize just what kind of despicable person she truly is. And it wasn't just her, the rest of the kids at the Academy openly mocked him for being, even the adults did it but Naruto simply ignored them. And to add insult to injury the blonde walked around just fine without any problems except for the occasional slip of the foot because of small rocks. He was even labeled 'Rookie of the Year' the same as Sasuke, and instead of bragging to everyone about the title he simply didn't care and just went through his life like normal.

Even when he passed the Genin exam he still didn't brag and simply walked off not wanting to be near anyone that day. When Team 7 formed she thought that maybe he was merely acting like he didn't care but was proven wrong during the introduction when all he said was his name and nothing more. It was almost like he didn't want to get close to anyone with the exception of Hinata, Shikamaru, and Choji, but she felt as though Hinata knew him the most. The _real_ Naruto. She didn't know him at all, only concerned with Sasuke and wanting his approval but so far the Uchiha heir didn't even acknowledge her at all, treating her as though she were a nuisance to him. Naruto openly showed he didn't want to have anything to do either her or Sasuke but he was at least cordial, even though he ignored them from time to time when he didn't want to be bothered.

Naruto stood up suddenly getting her attention, "Naruto?"

"I'm going for a walk," he said then turned to his clone which he felt walk towards him to his left, "Keep them safe and engage anyone who's not a Konoha ninja."

"Got it, boss." The clone said.

Naruto walked off needing to clear his head about everything that's happened so far, what with Orochimaru and those two mysterious figures that appeared out of nowhere and helped them out. Question is why?

* * *

Hiruzen was currently in a room in the tower of the Forest of Death with him was Yamato and the rest of the Jounin, including Zabuza and Haku.

"I hear that all your teams passed the First part of the exam." Yamato said.

Asuma smoked a cigarette, "I'm surprised seeing as how the proctor in charge was Ibiki, but some actually quit after being tricked by the man. Talk about a sadist."

Kurenai nodded. She was glad Hinata had passed the second part of the exam. The girl was a strong kunoichi but she was still worried for her.

Kakashi wondered how exactly his team was able to pass the written test seeing as how the blonde was blind, unless he planned something ahead.

Zabuza leaned back in his chair, now wearing a Konoha headband instead of the one from Mist. He had done his probation and became Jounin while Haku became Chunin.

The man snorted, "You've guys got some fucked up people here."

They all gave him a deadpanned look, _'Like your one to talk.'_ They all thought.

Gai looked over at Kakashi, "So Kakashi, you think your students will make it?"

Kakashi actually thought about it, "They will."

Zabuza snorted, "Please. My second apprentice is stronger than those two sorry excuse for students you got, Kakashi."

Yamato glared at him, "Just so you know, I was against him learning from you but I can't deny that he needed it. But so help me, if you've corrupted him in any way…I'll bury you underground." He did his scary face.

Zabuza sweat-dropped, "Overprotective much?"

Haku merely chuckled.

The other Jounin were confused as to whom they were talking about but Kakashi knew they were talking about Naruto.

Just then the door opened and in came Ibiki, "Hokage-sama!"

"What is it?" Hiruzen looked over at Ibiki surprised he looked so out of breath.

Ibiki approached, "One of the Genin, Naruto Uzumaki wrote something on his test that I think you might wanna see."

Hiruzen took the piece of paper from the man and looked it over, he smiled when he saw that all of the answers were correct then saw the little note the boy wrote at the top and stood up quickly, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Ibiki."

"No thanks are necessary." Ibiki bowed.

"What's wrong?" Yamato asked.

Hiruzen looked at all of them with a serious expression, "We have a spy here in Konoha."

* * *

Naruto was still walking through the forest but far enough to where he couldn't get back to his team, sensing two presences he stopped, "You two again."

Kagura and Haruto jumped down from the two tree branches they were standing on and stared at Naruto before bowing before him, "Uzumaki-sama." They said.

Naruto flinched, "How do you…?"

"Forgive me for my rudeness Uzumaki-sama, but I'm afraid we've known ever since we've sense your presence from far away." Haruto told him.

 _'_ _Sensed my presence? Are they talking about when I went to that temple back in Nami no Kuni? But how?'_ Naruto thought.

 _Asura was staring at them with interest, "Those features…their part of the Ōtsutsuki clan?! But why are they here? They're supposed to be on the moon!"_

Naruto's eye twitched, _'The moon? You have go to be kidding me! Are you telling me that they can live on the moon and not die?!'_

 _"_ _The Ōtsutsuki were just that special, but I'm surprised their here though. Why have they been looking for you?" Asura wondered._

 ** _"_** ** _Who knows? But I gotta admit that I am curious about it myself." Kurama confessed._**

Naruto sighed, "I have a lot of questions but I really want to know why you two are here and why did you help me?"

Kagura spoke, "We are here to protect and serve you Uzumaki-sama. It is our obligation to help ad protect the "Chosen Uzumaki."

"Chosen Uzumaki?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes, for you are the reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki the one who was chosen to inherit all of Ninshū as well as bring peace to the world. When he was alive he taught those of our clan that love and bonds are important and that we should treasure them. Those of the Uzumaki and Senju have carried this with them. Some of us have come down from the moon in order to experience that feeling of love and bonds because we do not have that on the moon. We are divided just like those of the Hyūga clan." Haruto explained.

Naruto understood him completely because Hinata's clan is the same way.

"The Uzumaki and Senju treasure family more than anything," Haruto continued, "The previous reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki was Hashirama Senju, he was the embodiment of Asura-sama, his kindness and other features that embody that of Asura-sama. We were assigned to protect and stay with Hashirama-sama and learn from him what it means to have and treasure bonds, but before we could learn anything…he died."

Kagura growled, "Its that mans fault! Madara Uchiha!"

Naruto felt hatred coming off from her all because she despises Madara Uchiha, "I see…"

"Uzumaki-sama, please allow us to stay with you. We know that what we are asking is selfish, but please." Haruto bowed politely.

Naruto sighed, "Well first off, stop calling me Uzumaki-sama. Call me Naruto, besides we are practically family."

Both of them looked up at him in surprise, "Family?"

"Yeah, when you stop and think about it the Uzumaki's, Senju's, Hyūga's, and Uchiha's are your descendants, so in my opinion that makes you guys my cousins," Naruto smiled, "So there's no need to be so formal, nor is there a reason for you to call me "Uzumaki-sama," just call me Naruto."

The two siblings looked stunned then smiled, "Yes, Naruto-sama!" they both said.

Naruto's eye brow twitched, "This is gonna be hard," he felt memories enter his brain and realized that Sakura was being attacked, "We'll finish this later, I need to go and see my team now."

"What shall we do, Naruto-sama?" Kagura asked.

Naruto sighed, "You should leave the forest and get some rest, and thank you for the help." The blonde summoned another clone and they both took off towards to where Sakura was.

Haruto looked towards his sister, "We have our orders, let's go."

"Yes, Nii-sama." Kagura nodded as they both disappeared.

* * *

Sakura, Team 10, and Gai's team were in the middle of fighting the ninja's from Otogakure, Naruto's clone was dispelled by one of them and that information was sent to Naruto, who was on his way. Sakura looked a mess, her body looked a little beaten one of her eyes was swollen and she was forced to cut her long hair but inwardly she didn't even care about her long hair anymore. She wanted to prove that she could fight alongside Naruto and Sasuke instead of being deadweight.

Currently the mummy one was being held by a shadow courtesy of Shikamaru, the long black haired female was on the floor blood coming out of her mouth as was Ino who had possessed her boy to keep her still. The last one with the wind tunnels in both his arms was smirking like a bastard.

The man who was identified as Zaku grinned preparing to blast them with another wind attack until he felt someone kick him in the back sending him flying into Dosu who was released by Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu. They all saw the blonde hair prompting Shikamaru, Choji, and Sakura to sigh in relief

"Troublesome blonde is late." Shikamaru smirked a little.

Zaku got off of Dosu and glared at Naruto, "You! You're the other target!"

Naruto felt the same aura that came from Orochimaru, "So your with the snake then, huh?"

Sakura's eyed widened, _'Their with Orochimaru?!'_

Dosu stared at Naruto, "Interesting…"

Zaku grinned, "Looks like you've saved us the trouble of tracking you down!" he raised both arms at the blonde, "I'll blow you away-!" before he could finish Naruto was right in front of him making his eyes widen.

"Senkō (Flash)." The blonde used the back of his sword to slash at the sound ninja making him cry out in pain as he was sent flying away and hit a tree. Hard. He slid down to the ground but was still conscious, even though he was still in pain he stood up slowly.

Dosu looked over at the blonde in complete shock, _'I didn't even see him move!'_

The Rookies gathered there thought the same thing, Neji had his Byakugan activated and didn't see how he did that.

Before the blonde could do anything else a dark aura surfaced out of nowhere making everyone turn their heads over at Sasuke who had black marking all over him, his Sharingan activated with wicked grin on his face.

Naruto felt the evil aura and knew it could only come from one person, and that person was…Orochimaru.

 _'_ _Did Orochimaru inject some of his chakra into him or something? Wait a minute! The mark! It must be coming from the mark on his neck!'_ Naruto thought.

 ** _"_** ** _That's some malicious aura, but mines better." Kurama bragged._**

 _Asura sighed, "Oh, Kurama."_

Sasuke eyed Sakura's current state, "Sakura…who did this to you?"

She was too scared to even speak but the idiot did it for her, "I did." Zaku bragged.

Sasuke turned his gaze over to Zaku and appeared behind him grabbing both arms, "You seem to be quite attacked to these arms of yours…why don't I break them?" and like that the raven haired teen snapped Zaku's arms making him scream out in pain and crumple to the floor.

Ino was shaking, "S-Sasuke-kun…?"

Neji was trying to figure out what the hell was going on with his Byakugan, "What is this foul chakra…?"

Dosu's eyes were shaking with fear, _'W-What is this?! Orochimaru-sama never told us about this!'_

Sasuke turned is eyes towards Dosu who flinched, "Your next."

Dosu slowly put his scroll down which just so happens to be a Heavens Scroll, "H-Here…take our scroll! Just don't kill me!"

Sasuke didn't seem to hear the man as he appeared before him only to have the back of his collar yanked and threw backwards by Naruto. The blonde didn't turn away from Sasuke just in case he'd do something, "You Oto ninja leave now and take your scroll because we already have one. leave now before I change my mind."

Dosu didn't need to be told twice as he picked up his scroll putting it inside his pocket before grabbing both his teammates and disappearing from the area. Sasuke didn't look amused by his teammates actions, "Why did you let them go?"

"You've made your point when you broke both of their teammates arms. There was no need for any other action other than that." Naruto stated.

Sasuke scoffed, "Always getting in the way. This is the perfect chance, you and me, let's go."

"I refuse." Naruto answered calmly.

Sasuke appeared before him taking the others by surprise, "I wasn't asking your permission!" he sent a punch at the blonde only for him to grab his wrist.

"Have it your way then." Naruto said then punched him right in the gut hard enough to knock him out. The markings on Sasuke soon disappeared as well, man was he glad that he didn't get marked by the Snake Sannin otherwise he'd end up like Sasuke. Dropping him to the ground he summoned two shadow clones, one picked Sasuke up and the other one grabbed onto Sakura carrying her on its back. Naruto summoned a third one to help them get to the tower, without a single word to the others gathered there they left into the tree branches not wanting to stay there another minute.

The Second part of the exams was just way too much and the blonde needed a nice long nap.

* * *

By some miracle they arrived at the Tower on the second day, and all Naruto wanted to do was rest but as soon as they got there and opened both scrolls Kakashi was on them with questions and questions. Sakura answered most of them because Naruto was way too tired and Sasuke was still unconscious from the punch to the gut the blonde gave him. The Hokage soon came to greet Team 7 in the room they were using and wanted to ask them some questions as well, but once again the one to answer them was Sakura because Naruto was passed out sleep, having to deal with Orochimaru, the members of the Ōtsutsuki clan showing up to protect him all of a sudden, and whatever else took a lot out of him.

Kakashi sighed as he saw his student sleep in complete bliss and pulled the covers over him knowing that he had to be completely exhausted.

Hiruzen looked over at the boy then back to Sakura, "So you say Orochimaru is after both Naruto and Sasuke, then?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Sakura nodded in confirmation.

Hiruzen's eyes closed, "I see. I believe I understand why Orochimaru wants Naruto, but Sasuke I don't."

Kakashi whispered something in his ear making the man open his eyes in fury, "Then that means he wants Naruto for the same thing."

Sakura was confused, what are they talking about?

Kakashi went over to Sasuke and noticed something on his neck, it was a black mark. He recognized it, "A Curse Mark…" he went over to Naruto checking his neck but found no Curse Mark much to his relief, "Naruto doesn't have one."

Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."

"Um, Kakashi-sensei, Hokage-sama, what's a Curse Mark?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi and Hiruzen looked at each other debating whether they should tell her or not but gave in, "It's a cursed seal that increases a user's chakra levels and physical abilities when the seal is active, but at the cost of corrupting the persons mind."

Sakura looked down, _'So that's what happened to Sasuke…'_

"Thankfully he didn't brand Naruto with it." Kakashi spoke again,

"Oh! Those two people in the black robes prevented Orochimaru from doing the same thing to Naruto and chased him away!" Sakura remembered.

Hiruzen raised a brow, "Black robes?"

She nodded, "Yes, I don't know why they would do that for us but they did."

The two men made a mental not to ask Naruto about them later after he woke up but for now, they would leave them to get some sleep.

Because their gonna need it.

* * *

 **Next Time: Chūnin Exams: Preliminaries.**


	8. Chūnin Exams: Preliminaries

The rest of the surviving teams arrive to the tower to hear the next part of the exam. They are surprised to know that they will have to take a Preliminary Exam to cut down on some numbers for the final. Who will make it through?

* * *

Naruto sighed as he walked to the kitchen with the help of his shadow clone remembering all that happened. It was nothing but a miracle that they made it to the tower without running into another team let alone attacked by any wild animals that live in the forest. Naruto had woken up on the third day of the second part of the exams, his body was completely tired but the next today he felt refreshed and much better. Hiruzen and Kakashi questioned him about what happened yesterday in the forest, the boy told them exactly what Sakura did. Then there was the topic of the hooded people that saved him and Sakura from Orochimaru; he told them that they were only interested in saving them and killing the snake Sannin. If he told them that their real purpose was to protect Naruto an Uzumaki there's no telling how they'd react to the information so he kept it to himself.

The blonde sighed as his shadow clone placed a cup down before him making him pick up the drink slowly and drink whatever it was inside the cup down. Turns out it was water. Placing the cup down he sighed as his throat felt much better, "Thanks."

The Shadow Clone nodded, "Your welcome, boss." It sat down next to the blonde.

Naruto sighed, _'I wonder how many teams made it to the tower? I know the other Rookies made it here but I'm not sure about anyone else. Not that I should care.'_

 ** _"_** ** _Those annoying idiots from Iwa probably made it through," Kurama reminded, "Their probably here right now looking for you."_**

 _'_ _I hope not. I really don't need that kind of headache right now.'_ Naruto thought.

 _"_ _Don't worry, the Jounin are patrolling the halls making sure no one does anything bad so you should be safe." Asura gave his opinion._

 _'_ _That makes me feel a little better, but I still want to know what their real objective is for participating in the exams. Can't be because they wanna make Chunin.'_ He thought.

 ** _Kurama snorted, "I've got a theory. They came here for the sole purpose of killing you."_**

 _'…_ _I honestly believe your not wrong about that.'_ Naruto thought slowly, forgetting about his father's reputation amongst the other villages especially Iwagakure.

 ** _"_** ** _From what my last host told me, just the mere mention of his name in their village was enough to put everyone on edge and send out bounty hunters after him. That damn Yondaime wasn't very likeable, not that I like him either but still." Kurama stated._**

 _Asura couldn't help but shake his head at that, 'Why did humanity stray from fathers teachings?'_

Naruto got up from the table as did his shadow clone and they headed back to the room where Sakura and a still unconscious Sasuke were, _'In any case, I'll just make sure to avoid them until we know what the other part of the exam is.'_

Right now, he just wanted to relax.

* * *

The blonde and his Shadow Clone entered the room where Sakura was by Sasuke's bed just watching over him, her hair was in much better condition having done it herself. She turned her head around when she saw it was Naruto along with his Shadow Clone enter the room making her smile, "Naruto."

The blonde was still surprised by her change of behavior towards him but didn't comment on it and had his Shadow Clone help him walk over to his bed so he can sit down. Sitting down on his bed he dispelled the clone, "He's still out then, huh?"

Sakura looked over at Sasuke and gave him a worried look, "He hasn't even budged."

"I see." Naruto said. He had never heard of a Curse Mark before until Kakashi explained to him, never in his life had he'd been glad that Orochimaru never marked him with it. Speaking of which the Snake Sanin is probably still around here somewhere, and that wasn't a good thing.

Sakura stared at her blonde teammate wondering what he was thinking about but before she could ask she heard Sasuke groan turning her attention back over to him, "Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke groaned again before opening his eyes slowly blinking a few times to clear his vision. When he could finally see the ceiling he turned over to see Sakura was giving him a look of relief, looking past her he saw Naruto sitting on the bed with a smirk, "Welcome back to the world of the living." The blonde said.

Sasuke shut his eyes with a snort, "Dobe."

"Your okay! Do you need anything?" Sakura questioned.

Sasuke opened his eyes again, "No." he said slowly.

 _'_ _Yeah, he's feeling better.'_ Naruto thought, but was still wondering how long the seal on his neck would cause more trouble again.

Guess they'd just have to wait and see.

* * *

It seemed like time just flew by when the last day finally came and the Hokage ordered all of the ones that made it to the tower to come down to an arena that was in the tower. Sakura looked around and saw some teams from Iwa, Kumo, Suna, Konoha, Ame, and Oto made it. Looks like Ame sent three teams to participate to improve their chances; Gaara apparently killed the first team from Ame, while Naruto's shadow clone had prevented the second team from even moving and wondered where they were since no one could find the bodies. It was speculated that the animals found them and ate them, so it was just the third team that made it.

Currently they were all gathered together, and all eyes were on Team 7, but Sakura knew it was because they were staring at both Sasuke and Naruto. They were now seeing their team as a threat, and in her opinion that wasn't a good thing.

"Listen up! Hokage-sama is here to explain about the Third part of the exams so shut the hell up!" Ibiki growled making everyone shut up.

Hiruzen cleared his throat, "Thank you Ibiki for that…introduction," he said to the man, "To you all who made it through the Forest of Death and arrived here to the tower in good time, congratulations. Now I will explain to you the true purpose of the exam."

Naruto was curious as to what the real reason was.

"Why is it that we have alliances with other countries and taking these exams together? Simple, to promote friendship among the countries. But here is the exams true meaning," he eyed the Genin's present, "The true purpose of the exam…is to replace war that went on in the past with the allied countries. Our current allies were once enemies who fought one another about who should rule, now in order to prevent such pointless violence and bloodshed each country purposed to do the alternative…the Chūnin Exams."

"Why the hell should we do something like that? What about being promoted to Chūnin?" Kiba growled.

Sasuke snorted at him, "You're an idiot."

Kiba snarled at him.

"True, this exam is to determine who should be promoted to Chūnin." Hiruzen said, "However the other purpose of these exams is for each countries shinobi to risk their own life to protect their land. Influential leaders from many countries make up clients for the shinobi."

"Then what's with this whole "friendship" business?" Tenten questioned.

"I said in the beginning not to be confused with the purpose of this exam," Hiruzen reminded, "By losing one's life and keeping balance is the shape of friendship in the shinobi world. Now before we begin the Third part of the exam-" he was cut off by a cough.

"Actually Hokage-sama, **_*_** _cough, cough_ _ *****_ a sickly looking Jounin appeared, "Please allow me Hayate Gekkō to explain the Third part of the exam for I am the referee." Hayate said.

Hiruzen nodded, "Very well, by all means." He stepped out of the way and allowed Hayate to do his thing.

Hayate stepped forward, "My name is Hayate Gekkō, proctor for the Third exam. Now then, before we begin all of you here will take the Preliminary part first before we get to the finals."

"Preliminary?" Sakura questioned.

Hayate nodded, "There are too many of you remaining, so to cut those numbers down we will have a Preliminary round to dwindle the number of participants participating." The man coughed again.

Naruto raised a brow, _'He may be sickly but that doesn't mean he's weak.'_

"Anyway, if there is anyone of you who wants to drop out simply raise your hand." Hayate said.

Kabuto raised his hand, "I forfeit."

"Kabuto-san?" Sakura looked at him with confusion.

Hayate stared at him, "Kabuto Yakushi, right? Very well, you may leave."

"Why are you quitting?" Sakura questioned.

Kabuto smiled sheepishly, "Well to be honest with you, I'm a little beaten up and I still haven't regained my hearing yet since the tussle with the Oto nin from the First part of the exam. I'm just not in the best condition to continue." And with that he walked off no one seeing his smirk.

Naruto grippe his cane again, _'I hope they keep an eye on him.'_

Sakura was looking at Sasuke but her gave her that look making her not even bother to tell him to forfeit because she knew he wouldn't listen.

"Okay…now let's begin the Third part of the exam," Hayate continued, "The Preliminaries are basically one on one fighting, you will be fighting as though this was a real life or death situation. The winners will advance to the finals. There are no rules for this part of the exam. The fights continue until one of you dies, is knocked out, or forfeits the match. Should you refuse to acknowledge that you've lost then me and the Jounin present will be forced to subdue you, and attempts to resist will result in us forcefully subduing you. Now then, please look over to the electronic board for it will decide who will fight who."

Everyone looked at the board and saw the names being shuffles until they stopped on two names.

 **Sasuke Uchiha**

 **vs.**

 **Yoroi Akadō**

"For the first match, Sasuke and Yoroi. The rest go up to the balconies please." Hayate said.

The rest of the Genin present walked up to the stands to watch the match, but Sakura was still worried about Sasuke until she felt a hand on her shoulder looking up she saw it was Kakashi who eye smiled at her, "Don't worry Sakura, he'll be just fine."

Sakura smiled and nodded, "Right."

Kakashi looked over at Naruto and saw he was completely calm, "Well Naruto, are you going to cheer for your teammate?"

Naruto said nothing for about two minutes simply feeling Yoroi's chakra and sensing something was off, "Sasuke better take this match seriously…or he'll end up losing."

Sakura looked at him as did the rest of the Rookies even the Jounin present, Zabuza, Haku, and Yamato were there as well.

"What do you mean by that?" Ino growled.

"Explaining it to you will only give me a headache so I won't even bother." Naruto stated not even looking at her.

"What was that?!" She yelled prompting Shikamaru and Choji to hold her back.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered.

Sasuke and Yoroi stared at each other sizing each other up, but there was a dark gleam in the man's eyes.

Hayate looked at them the announced, "First match between Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado. Begin."

Yoroi made the tiger hand sign, "You ready?"

Sasuke took a stance, "Let's go."

The man's hand glowed with blue chakra, while the other hand grabbed a kunai and tossed it at the Uchiha so Sasuke responded in kind by throwing shuriken at man and it became a projectile battle. Sasuke gripped his neck all of a sudden almost like he was pain but he ignored it and came at Yoroi in a Taijutsu battle, Yoroi's hand glowed blue again and Sasuke noticed that he seemed to be weakening much to his confusion.

Yoroi managed to get free from the young Uchiha who looked a little exhausted.

 _'_ _What is this? My strength is weakening…'_ Sasuke thought in exhaustion leaning down on the ground slowly.

"Sasuke-kun, look out!" Sakura yelled.

Sasuke looked up just in time to see Yoroi right in front of him grabbing his forehead slamming him down to the floor, "Chakura Kyūin Jutsu (Chakra Absorption Jutsu)." His hand glowed blue and Sasuke felt his chakra being absorbed.

Naruto sighed, "So that's what it was."

Sakura looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"That guy can absorb chakra, that's why I said Sasuke should take this seriously." Naruto reminded.

Sasuke glared at the man, "You…your absorbing my chakra…"

"Heh, so you finally noticed. But its too late!" Yoroi said arrogantly before he felt a kick to his gut sending him away from the boy, "Heh, so you still have some energy left, huh?"

Sasuke got up slowly, _'I can't use my Sharingan or any other jutsu otherwise I'll be too exhausted.'_

Yoroi charged at him, "Now's not the time to be daydreaming!" before the man could try to drain Sasuke completely he was kicked in the face sending him upwards off the ground.

Lee's eyes widened when he realized what Sasuke was doing, "That's my-!"

Sasuke appeared behind Yoroi making his eyes widen, "Kage Buyō (Dancing Leaf Shadow)?!"

"Something like that," Sasuke said before wincing as his neck was in pain, "But from here on out, its all original." He kicked the man in his left side, then right, then kicked him down before going for the final blow, "Shishi Rendan (Lions Barrage)!" he sent the final blow to his stomach knocking him out completely before landing on the ground himself but not before sitting down in complete exhaustion.

"About time the damn brat ended the match." Zabuza crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Indeed." Haku agreed.

Hayate walked forward, "Winner of the first match…Sasuke Uchiha."

"Alright! I knew you could do it Sasuke-kun!" Ino yelled.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

Sakura sighed in relief.

Kiba scoffed, "Show off."

Hinata was thinking the same thing.

Tenten frowned at Sasuke, "He stole that from Lee."

"Just what I would expect from an Uchiha." Neji commented.

Lee gripped the bars as he saw Sasuke do his own version of his move.

Guy wasn't all too happy either.

Orochimaru disguised as a sensei smirked, _'Excellent work, Sasuke,'_ he looked over at Naruto still keeping his smirk, _'Naruto-kun…I will soon give you your gift. I know you will not disappoint me.'_

Kakashi appeared behind Sasuke and took him away somewhere, much to the others confusion but didn't think about it too long as the names rolled up on the screen again.

 **Shino Aburame**

 **vs.**

 **Zaku Abumi**

Yamato who was standing next to Naruto now told him who was going next, "So it's Shino's turn, huh? That Zaku guy should probably forfeit."

Kiba heard this and grinned, "Hell yeah! Shino's gonna wipe the floor with this guy!"

Hinata smiled in complete agreement.

Shikamaru raised a brow at Naruto, "You know something we don't?"

Naruto put a finger up to his lips, "That's for me to know and you to find out Shikamaru."

"Troublesome blonde." Shikamaru muttered.

"Thank you vey much." Naruto smiled.

Kurenai was grateful Naruto didn't say anything about Shino's skill. She made a mental note to give him some sweets later.

Shino and Zaku made their way down to the arena, with Zaku grinning despite the fact that both arms were in slings.

Hayate looked at them both, "Second match between Shino Aburame and Zaku Abumi…Begin!"

Shino decided to speak, "You should forfeit the match."

Zaku scoffed as he smirked, "Well what'ya know? It looks like I still have one good arm left." And with that he came at Shino punching him square in the face sending him back and causing smoke to appear, "Heh, maybe you're the one who should forfeit!" he smirked before losing it as he saw Shino got right back up, "What?!"

* * *

Meanwhile Kakashi and Sasuke were in an underground area where he was getting ready to perform a sealing jutsu on the curse mark. Sasuke was shirtless and there was blood around the seal, when that was done Kakashi got to work, Hare → Snake → Horse → Ram → Bird → Tiger → Hare → Snake → Horse → Ram → Bird → Tiger → Hare → Snake → Horse → Ram → Bird → Dog → Rat: "Fūja Hōin (Curse Sealing)!" he placed his hand where the seal was and Sasuke cried out in pain.

"This curse sealing jutsu is only as strong as you are," Kakashi explained, "It derives its power from the strength of your will. If that will ever weakens, if you ever begin to doubt yourself…the curse will be unleashed in all its fury. Hmph, amazing. Too tired to even argue."

"My how you've grown," A familiar voice said in amusement, "To think you've become strong enough to form the curse sealing jutsu."

Kakashi turned around eyes in utter shock, "You!"

Orochimaru stood before him smirking like a snake surrounded by his evil aura, "Orochimaru!"

"Long time no see, Kakashi." Orochimaru greeted, "No offense Kakashi, but I didn't come to see you. My business is with that boy behind you."

Kakashi glared at him, "What do you want with Sasuke?" he demanded.

Orochimaru chuckled, "You've required something new, how I envy your good fortune."

Kakashi's eyes widened.

"I don't believe you had it the last time met, did you?" Orochimaru observed, "The gift…the Sharingan in your left eye."

Kakashi glared at him.

"It's only fair that I should want it too, the Uchiha power." He smirked, "But then again, Naruto-kun's power is just as delicious. Its too bad I couldn't mark him, but there's always next time."

If looks could kill then Orochimaru would be dead by now, "So…you are after Naruto…why?"

Orochimaru chuckled, "Why you ask? Simple really, he's an Uzumaki blessed with their longevity and sealing mastery, to add to that. He also has the Mokuton and has been utilizing it beautifully despite being blind. How can I not want such a delicious specimen?"

* * *

Zaku's eyes were shaking, "He's…there's no way…" there was this strange sound that was heard throughout the arena, "Hey…what…?"

Naruto smiled, "Moron."

Sakura looked at him in confusion before looking around trying to figure out what that sound was, as was everyone else.

Zaku's eyes widened when he saw bug coming out of Shino, _'What the?! He's got bugs coming out of him! Like a human hive! This guy's a freak show!'_ he thought, "Great now that you've creeped us all out what happens next?" he said then looked behind him in complete shock as he saw a swarm of bugs behind him.

Shino lifted his finger up showing a bug perched right on it, "Their a rare species of parasitic beetle that attack their prey in a swarm eating its chakra. An army of this size, will suck you dry in less than a minute. Your only intelligent option is to forfeit the match. You can't fight two opponents at once, if you use your good arm against me, my friends will swarm you from behind. Conversely, if you use your good arm to keep them at bay then you'll have me on your blindside."

Zaku glared at him.

"Either way, your defeat will be certain. And unpleasant," Shino brought his hands up, "It's wise to always have an ace in the whole."

Zaku was shaking mad refusing to just simply go down or forfeit the match, using the good arm he pointed it at Shino while surprising everyone that his other arm was just fine when he move it and pointed it at the swarm of bugs from behind him, "Now you've done it! NOW YOU'VE MADE ME MAD!"

Shino was simply observing him.

Zaku smirked, "Like you said yourself! Always have an ace in the whole, right?!"

Kiba growled, "What the?! I thought his right arm was shot!"

Naruto was calm knowing that Shino has something up his sleeve,

Dosu chuckled inwardly, _'So it was just a ploy to make us believe he had only one good arm. Clever move.'_

* * *

"What's your game?" Kakashi demanded.

"Otogakure, the village that everyone's so curious about, its mine you see I created it." Orochimaru smiled, "I think you understand without me saying anymore."

"You and your wild eye ambition." Kakashi said.

"Oh yes indeed, as always but to play the game as you put it I need pieces on the chest board. Willing pawns to do my bidding." Orochimaru said.

* * *

"AAARRRGGGHHH! I'LL BLOW YOU AWAY!" Zaku yelled.

* * *

"And Sasuke and Naruto are one of your paws?" Kakashi questioned.

"Oh, not pawns," Orochimaru told him, "Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun are far more valuable than that. But as for the others…well you know how it is in a game of chess."

* * *

Zaku's arms started bursting out with chakra creating holes in them.

* * *

"Pieces must be sacrificed." Orochimaru grinned.

* * *

Zaku screamed out in pain, "My arms! What's wrong with them?!" he moved one arm a little bit and saw the holes were plugged up with bugs.

Shino appeared behind him, "Earlier while I was distracting you with my helpful advice. I was also sending some of my little friends to plug up those bothersome wind holes in your hands. Both hands just to be sure. You see while an ace in the whole is good. Two aces are better."

Zaku gave him a hateful glare before swinging around trying hit him but Shino backhanded the Oto ninja sending him flying before he passed out with blood coming out of his mouth.

* * *

Orochimaru walked towards Kakashi slowly making the silver haired jounin's heart beat faster and faster as he approached until he finally snapped out of it, "Stop! Don't come any closer!" he said making some hand signs, Ox → Rabbit → Monkey: "Chidori (One Thousand Birds)!"

Orochimaru saw his hand be incased in Lightning and stopped walking, "I don't care if you are one of the Sannin! The three Shinobi of Legend! I swear, take one more step towards Sasuke, and one of us will die here!" Kakashi declared.

Orochimaru laughed in amusement.

"Funny is it?" Kakashi glared at him.

"Poor Kakashi, all your noble efforts." Orochimaru mocked, "All in vain."

"What?"

"Do you really believe that the seal will hold? Do you think you can keep him? From what he truly desires? You know I'm right. A heart like his that hungers for only one thing, will not be denied. No matter what obstacles you put in his path. He's an avenger isn't he?" Orochimaru smiled.

"You think you can take advantage of that? Not Sasuke." Kakashi glared.

Orochimaru smiled, "You cannot stop it. At some point he will come to me…in search of power." And with that he walked away.

Kakashi watched the snake Sannin walk away, "Unless of course you carry out your threat to kill me, now is your chance. Take it…if you dare."

The silver haired Jounin suddenly saw himself being impaled with a sword as soon as he said that, so he didn't pass on that threat to attack the snake Sannin and simply watched him walk away until he eventually disappeared, his body was shaking in fear.

 _'_ _One of us will die here…I must've been out of my mind!'_ he thought as he stood up and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

* * *

Hayate bent down to observed Zaku as he groaned in pain unable to get up. The man stood up, "I'd say this one…has had it. The winner is Shino Aburame."

Naruto wasn't surprised at all that Shino won, "And that's that."

Yamato smiled, "You knew Shino would win, didn't you?"

The blonde nodded, "Shino's no pushover, not to mention the clan he comes from gives him an edge in battle."

"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned.

Naruto felt the Rookies eyes on him making him roll his eyes inwardly, _'They seriously don't know that clan he comes from?'_ he thought, "Shino's from the Aburame clan, meaning they house living insects inside their own bodies and use them in battle."

"Living insects?! And their inside of him?!" Lee exclaimed.

Naruto nodded, "It's actually pretty cool though, that Zaku guy should have just forfeited the match like Shino told him to. He can be ruthless when he feels like it."

"Correct." Shino said from behind them making Sakura scream and edge away from the boy.

Naruto turned his head towards the bug boy, "Yo Shino, nice work."

"Thank you," Shino bowed his head, "I look forward to seeing your match."

The blonde smirked, "Hopefully I can have some fun."

Yamato looked over at Zabuza and glared making the man shrug his shoulders, "What? Have a cow why don't you?"

Haku simply smiled.

Dosu and Kin saw the medics take Zaku away, "Well that was unfortunate."

"What just happened? How come his arms broke down like that?" Kin looked over at him.

"At some point early in the match this guy Shino managed to get his beetles into Zaku's wind canon and plug the opening. As soon as Zaku tried to use his slicing sound wave he was doomed. With its usual outlet sealed off, the energy from the sound wave trapped in his arm. Expanding searching for an exit." Dosu explained.

Kin gasped.

"Sooner or later something had to give, in this case…it was Zaku." Dosu said.

 _'_ _I can't pretend we had anything in common, except this team and our mission. Still…I'll even the score for you Zaku.'_ Dosu thought.

"Uh…alright everyone, moving right on to the third match." Hayate announced.

Naruto's sense went off making him turn around, "Welcome back." As soon as he said that Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke.

Lee gave Naruto an astonished look, "How did you know?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome blonde, I feel sorry for his opponent."

Kakashi greeted his two students, "Hi."

Sakura gave him an incredulous look, "What do you mean "Hi," is that all you say?! What about…what about Sasuke-kun? How is he?"

"Oh he's fine, sleeping soundly in the infirmary." Kakashi assured her.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

 _'_ _But he's been put under guard by the ANBU Black Ops.'_ Kakashi thought.

Yamato heard from the Hokage that Orochimaru was here and that he was after both Sasuke and Naruto, so he was watching over the blonde. He'd be damned if that snake got a hold of him and do god knows what. He saw the names be shuffled until they stopped announcing who would fight next, leaning down he told Naruto who would be fighting next making him nod.

 **Kankuro Sabaku**

 **vs.**

 **Misumi Tsurugi**

"Kankuro Sabaku, huh? Looks like this'll will be Suna's win." Naruto said sensing Kankuro's little trick.

Yamato nodded, "Agreed."

"What are you two talking about?" Sakura wondered.

"Just watch the match and you'll see." Yamato told her.

Kankuro smirked, _'Heh, finally my turn.'_

Baki saw the smirk on his face, _'Careful Kankuro, you'll underestimate your opponent one time too many.'_

Gaara glared at him, _'Hmph, idiot.'_

Kankuro and Misumi walked down to the arena staring at each other, "I'm not like Yoroi, I don't get careless not even against kids."

Kankuro scoffed.

"A piece of advice, once I go into my jutsu give up. Quick. If you do I promise to make it short and painless." Misumi warned.

Kankuro unwrapped the bandaged thing on his back, "Funny, I was about to say the same thing. Though I cant promise it'll be painless."

The two of them stared at each other some more.

"Alright then," Hayate spoke up, "If your ready…let the third match. Begin!"

Kankuro smirked, "Let me do you a favor and end this battle quickly."

"You can't end it if I end it first." Misumi stated as he ran towards Kankuro sending a punch but Kankuro blocked it. Misumi smirked underneath his mask and started wrapping his limbs around Kankuro, "I dislocated everyone of my joints softening my body, then with my chakra I can control it perfectly."

"With just his chakra?" Sakura questioned leaning down, "Whoa."

Naruto's enhanced hearing picked up the obvious making him sigh, "That guys an idiot, and he hasn't even noticed yet."

Yamato smiled, "Not everyone has enhanced senses like you do."

The blonde simply smiled.

"The more you struggle the tighter I'll hold. I don't know what your carrying in there, but as long as I have a hold of you it makes no difference. I can break your neck right now if I wanted to, and I will unless you give up." Misumi told him.

Kankuro smirked, "You wanna bet?"

Misumi held on tighter, "You wanna die?"

"You fool, you're the one who's gonna die here." Kankuro told him with a smirk making Misumi mad prompting him to snap Kankuro's neck.

Naruto sensed everyone's reaction, "Guys relax, he's fine."

"Fine?! He just broke the guy's neck, how is he fine?!" Ino yelled.

Naruto closed his eyes, "Look back down and you'll see."

Everyone looked back down to see what the blonde was talking about.

Misumi clicked his tongue, _'What a fool, too bad he didn't surrender. Oh well.'_ he still when he heard a cracking noise coming from Kankuro's supposedly dead form and saw his head move backwards only to see a puppet staring back at him.

"Now…its my turn so say goodbye." The Puppet smiled dropped the disguise and wrapping its limps around Misumi and began to squeeze him tightly.

Naruto smiled, "You see? I told you, he's just fine."

Lee looked over at the blonde in complete shock, "But…how did you know…?"

They all looked at him as he smiled and put his finger to his lips, "When I'm called to fight you'll have the answers you want to know."

Shikamaru sighed, _'I don't even wanna know.'_

The wrapped object unwrapped suddenly revealing Kankuro, the real Kankuro.

Misumi's eyes widened, _'This is just a puppet! And the real ninja was in there controlling it! He's a puppet master!'_

Sakura observed the fight, "He controls it, with chakra from his hands."

"He's a puppet master, their not all that uncommon in Sunagakure." Naruto said.

"That's true, and actually seeing one fight in person is still interesting." Yamato said.

Misumi was in pain from the tight squeeze the puppet had him in, "Enough! I give!"

"But if your bones were all crushed just think about how flexible you'll be." Kankuro smirked.

Hayate coughed into his fist, _'That was close. I almost stopped the match in the middle, but it's a good thing I didn't.'_

Kankuro had his puppet break every bone except the man's neck making him fall down on his back, thus ending the match.

Hayate called it, "Because his opponent is unable to continue…the winner is Kankuro."

Sakura looked scared as she saw the medics reel the ninja away, _'Everyone here wields their chakra perfectly, and I thought my chakra abilities would give me an edge over the others. So much for that idea.'_

"We will now take a five minute break." Hayate announced.

Sakura sighed and walked off something Naruto didn't miss at all making him sigh.

Lee saw him sigh, "What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"Nothing, but I think she's starting to doubt herself." Naruto said.

 _'_ _Not surprising. If she didn't waste her time on Sasuke then her skills as kunoichi would be at least Hinata and Tenten's level.'_ Yamato thought.

"Do not worry! I'm sure Sakura-san will prevail!" Lee smiled doing his trademark pose.

The blonde wasn't too sure, "If you say so."

Five minutes had passed and Sakura had come back to stand next to her teammate and sensei.

Hayate coughed into his fist, "Now let's continue. It's time to begin the fourth battle."

Sakura approached her teammate and sensei, "Did I miss anything?"

"No your right on time." Naruto said.

"Hey Naruto, are you nervous about who you might fight?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not. There's no reason for me to be nervous." Naruto stated.

"Why's that?" Sakura wondered.

"I'm just not."

She sweat-dropped then giggled, "Your so weird sometimes."

"Is that so?" Naruto raised a brow at her changed behavior towards him. Wonder what brought this on?

Kakashi place a hand on her shoulder, "This isn't the time for laughter." He made her direct her eyes towards the screen making her blood run cold.

Yamato told Naruto who was up next making him sigh, "This match is going to be a colossal pain."

 **Sakura Haruno**

 **vs.**

 **Ino Yamanaka**

Sakura turned towards Ino who she saw walking back to the balcony after their little "talk." Ino saw the names on the screen and gave Sakura determined look which the girl returned. Both girls made it down to the arena and faced each other.

"Draw." Naruto called it.

Shikamaru nodded, "Draw."

Choji nodded in agreement.

Asuma and Kakashi sweat-dropped, "Come on you three, have some faith in them."

"Then let's make a bet then," Naruto said, "If it ends up a draw then you have to burn that orange book you read so much."

Kakashi froze in place as Kurenai and Asuma chuckled, the silver haired Jounin glared at Yamato who smirked at him. So he told him about the book then, huh?

Sakura and Ino stared at each other, "I never thought…I'd fight you. Or at least I didn't think it happen this soon. But don't expect me to go easy on you."

Sakura said nothing and simply stared.

Asuma looked down at his student, _'Ino was standout among the rookie female shinobi, so she has a good chance to win. But with Sakura as her opponent can she bring herself to fight hard enough to do it.'_

"Of all the people for Ino to go up against, it would have to be Sakura what a mess." Shikamaru sighed.

"I know." Choji groaned.

Kakashi was interested to see just how much she'd improved.

Naruto knew that this match would end in a draw.

Hayate raised his hand, "Begin!"

Both kunoichi came at each other and Sakura sent a kick Ino's way only for the blonde to dodge, Ino tried punching Sakura but she blocked it and tried to trip her but Ino jumped and backed away. Sakura improvised and sent three kunai at her, Ino calmly grabbed a kunai and tossed it deflecting both the kunai's that were sent at her.

"Oh no, I just knew it." Choji groaned.

Naruto sighed, "I don't need to see to know this battle is going to last too long."

"What are you saying Naruto-kun?! Sakura-san will prevail victorious!" Lee grinned.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Oh man, what an idiot."

Kurotsuchi scoffed, "Pathetic, is this the best two kunoichi from Konoha can do?"

Karui was in total agreement, "This is boring as hell."

"What a pathetic display." Yugito sighed.

Omoi edged away from them and over to Killer Bee, these two looked pissed off.

The two girls continued their little academy skill fighting some more, before Ino finally got a jab at Sakura punching her in the stomach and was about to hit her in the face but chickened out and instead slapped her lightly.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Did I hear what I think I just heard? Did she just slap her?"

Yamato sighed, "Yes, she did."

"What kind shit are you two teaching these girls anyway? Can't even fight decently." Zabuza looked bored.

Haku sighed, "Its quite shameful for two kunoichi to be fighting like this."

Sakura saw Ino's hesitation and clenched her fist, "Alright listen up Ino!"

Ino blinked.

"I'm not going to fight with you over Sasuke." Sakura told her.

"What did you say?!" Ino growled.

"I'm not the weak needy girl I used to be! Your not even on my radar and your not Sasuke's type! Ino-Pig!" Sakura insulted.

Ino glared at her, "Sakura! You'd better watch your step! You have any idea who your mouthing off to?! Don't press your luck with me you little Billboard-brow!"

Naruto sighed for what felt like the one-hundredth time, "Seriously? They went from fighting to name calling?"

"This is just sad." Zabuza stated.

Sakura took her headband off and the two of them had yet another stare down.

"I can't believe these two are getting so worked up." Naruto said.

Kakashi looked at him, _'He just can't see it's the same way with him and Sasuke, well Sasuke being the one who's always worked up around Naruto. Still I wonder why Naruto avoids Sasuke whenever he wants to have a fight with him?'_

Ino got what Sakura was doing and took off her headband with a smirk, "Heh, I understand…Sakura." Both girls put their headbands around their foreheads giving each other a determined look.

 _'_ _This time we do this right! No holding back! A fair fight…and I'm going to win!"_ they thought in unison.

Both girls charged at each other sending a punch that sent them both back away from each other until they charged at each other again with Sakura doing some familiar hand signs, Tiger → Boar → Ox → Dog, two clones appeared on each side of the pink haired kunoichi.

 _'_ _Just a plain old jutsu?'_ Ino thought in confusion, "This isn't just some ninja Academy graduation exam. Do you really think you can beat me with a basic ninja art like that?!" she stood still and took a stance, _'If I look carefully I can find out which one is the real one.'_

Sakura smirked, _'I'll send chakra to my feet for a burst of speed! And then!'_

 _'_ _What?!'_ Ino's eyes widened when the clones sped up too quickly for her to do anything, so she blocked their attacks that didn't even hit her allowing the real Sakura to land a punch right in her face sending her sprawling backwards.

Sakura stood up, "I'm not some crybaby anymore! You play with fire, and your gonna get burned! Let's see your best! Ino!"

Ino got up slowly wiping her face, "It's not like I needed your invitation y'know? I'll give you my best, but your not gonna like it."

Yamato looked down at the girl, "Increasing her strikes using her chakra, huh? That's impressive, she reminds me of Tsunade-sama."

The male Jounin in the room flinched with the mention of Tsunade.

The girls came each other once more sending a punch only for them both to grab hold of each other's fists and send each other flying back, but not before throwing shuriken at each other that cancelled out.

Lee was impressed with Sakura's skill, _'No matter how good Sakura is, Ino is just as good. This battle could rage on for quite a while.'_

The fight between the two girls continued and it felt like the battle was gonna keep dragging on forever.

 _'_ _Man, since when did she get this strong?!'_ Ino thought sending a punch.

 _'_ _I can do this! I know I can!'_ Sakura thought sending her own punch.

Both fists connected sending both girls flying backwards and away from each other.

Kakashi sighed, _'At this rate this battle will never end.'_

Hayate looked in between the two girls, _'This has been going on for so long. They've been at it for 10 minutes.'_

Both girls were panting as they stood up slowly, "This isn't how it was supposed to go, how can you be evenly matched with me?!"

Sakura smirked, "Heh, I guess your right Ino your obsession with your looks and hair can't be surpassed. I've been training too hard to worry about that stuff."

Ino glared at the comment prompting her to take a kunai, "Your gonna pay for that! I've had enough of you making fun of me!"

"What an idiot," Shikamaru said, "Ino's falling for her trap. She's so riled up by Sakura there's no telling what she'll do."

"Oh man, I hate it when she's like this." Choji said.

Naruto just wanted the battle to be over with already, "This is taking too long. Sakura's having way too much fun goading Ino into doing something stupid."

"Looks that way." Yamato agreed.

Ino did something that took Sakura off guard…she cut her ponytail off shocking Shikamaru and Choji.

"Heh, you think that'll help?" Sakura smirked.

Shikamaru's mouth twitched, _'Uh-oh, I think she's totally lost it this time.'_

"That's it!" Ino growled then tossed her hair to the ground, "See?! I don't need this!"

Sakura simply stood there with a smirk, not at all bothered by Ino's little outburst.

"Alright, I'll put an end to this right now! Get ready to tell everyone you lost to me Billboard-brow!" Ino made a familiar hand sign.

"Wait! Don't tell me she's going to-" Shikamaru's eyes widened at the familiar hand sign.

"Could it be?" Choji said.

Sakura's eyes twitched, _'If I recall that sign is...'_

"I knew I recognized it, it's the Mind Transfer Jutsu sign." Shikamaru said.

"Oh man," Asuma scratched the side of his head, "That fool."

Naruto sighed, "She does realize that if she misses then she'll lose the match. What is she thinking?"

"She's not in her right mind right now." Yamato told him but was inwardly thinking the same thing.

"Look I know your frustrated, but that's pointless." Sakura smirked.

"Oh yeah? We'll just see about that." Ino challenged.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu), it's a jutsu that allows the user to take over their opponents spirit and rest control of their body for a few minutes by discharging all of their spiritual energy and striking their enemy with is." Sakura stated, "But despite its power, there are major flaws to this formidable jutsu that makes it extremely dangerous. First, the user's discharged spiritual energy can only fly straight and it moves at a very slow speed. Second, even if the spiritual energy misses the enemy it can't return to the user's own body for several minutes and this, in battles that are most often measured in seconds. I should add the while the spiritual energy is gone the user's body, your body Ino, can't move at all. It'll be little more than a doll."

 _'_ _The Shintenshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu) is only used for spying. Its not a battle jutsu. Ino, using that jutsu here wouldn't just be a bad idea, it'll be a fatal mistake.'_ Asuma thought.

 _'_ _It's a powerful jutsu, but as long as Sakura can dodge it its not much of a threat. Plus, if she can avoid it, she can attack Ino without any resistance. If that happens, Hayate will be forced to bring the match to an end.'_ Kakashi thought.

"So what?! I don't care, I won't know unless I try!" Ino yelled.

Sakura got ready to dodge, "If you miss its all over. You do know that, right?"

Shikamaru gripped the railing leaning down, _'She's only supposed to use this with me, so I can immobilize the enemy first with my Shadow Possession Jutsu! If she uses it this way it'll never work!'_

 _'_ _There's no way she'll hit Sakura!'_ Asuma thought.

Sakura took off running.

"Don't do it!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu)!" Ino yelled.

Everyone watched as both their bodies stilled and waited with bated breath to see if it worked or not. Ino's body fell to the ground limp and unmoving.

Shikamaru's eyes were shaking, "Did it work?"

Sakura stood there for a minute then laughed, "What an unfortunate choice…Ino." She smiled lifting her head.

"So it's all over right?" Shikamaru observed.

"I can't believe she did it." Choji stared down in disbelief.

"Your done Ino."

Naruto blinked having felt chakra below Sakura's feet, "Actually…I think Ino got her."

They all looked over at Naruto then back at the arena and saw that Sakura couldn't move making her look down, "No way…"

"You fell for it Sakura," Ino lifted her head, "Ha! I finally caught you."

"It can't be!" Sakura's eyes were shaking.

"I'm afraid it can, all those hand signs earlier were jut an act to fool you. To trick you into running into the trap I've laid for you. And it worked, now you can't move at all, can you? Your being held by a special rope that's being held by my hair by chakra poured into it." Ino smirked.

Sakura grunted.

"Now that your trapped I can take over your body and make you say that your giving up this match," Ino did the same hand sign as before, "There's no way I'll ever miss with this jutsu now."

Naruto understood what Ino did, "Ino's pretty clever, she laid out a trap without Sakura noticing until it was too late."

"If Sakura hadn't been acting so arrogant earlier she would have noticed something was wrong." Yamato commented.

"So losing it was just an act to." Shikamaru theorized.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu)!" Ino used the jutsu and took full control over Sakura's body with a smirk, "Looks like I win…Sakura." She moved to raise her hand up only to stop midway and grip her head in pain confusing everyone there.

"What's going on?!" Lee yelled.

Naruto smirked sensing Sakura trying to fight back Ino's spirit, "I think Sakura's trying to fight back."

"What?! But how?!" Lee looked at him.

"It's simple," Naruto shrugged, "She refuses to let Ino have her way and is determined to prove that she's not going down without a fight. It's all about will power."

Ino was losing her hold on Sakura, _'No! I…can't hold…onto her! Release!'_ she released the jutsu sending her spirit back into her own body.

"No way…she actually shattered Ino's jutsu." Shikamaru stared down in pure disbelief.

"It's like Naruto said earlier," Yamato spoke, "Shintenshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu) does allow you to take over the victims body, but if the victims will power or spirit is stronger than the user then the victim can cast the intruder out of their mind."

"How can you have two spirits in you? Just what are you anyway?" Ino questioned.

"Someone who is just as strong as she is beautiful," Sakura smirked, "I mean a girl's gotta be tough if she's gonna survive something like this."

Both girls stood up slowly and charged at each other one last time, _'This ends…right now!'_ both girls sent each other flying as they hit each other backwards and this time both were too tired to get back up.

Hayate called it, "Since neither combatant is able to continue…by double knockout no one get's through the fourth battle of the Preliminary. This match is over."

Naruto wasn't surprised at all, he had said it would end in a draw because of how both girls are. Both Asuma and Kakashi picked Ino and Sakura up and brought them back to the balcony so the fifth match could start. Kakashi was crying anime tears because he now has to burn his precious book. The names shuffled until they landed on two new sets of names.

Yamato told Naruto who was going next.

 _'_ _So Gaara's sister is going next then, huh?'_ Naruto thought.

 **Tenten Higurashi**

 **vs.**

 **Temari Sabaku**

Tenten appeared down in the arena with a smile, _'I'm soo ready. After watching that last match I'm fired up!'_

Temari stood there with a smirk.

"So, this is another Genin from Sunagakure," Neji observed, "This should be interesting to watch."

"For the fifth match, Tenten, Temari, get ready." Hayate told them.

Both girls eyed each other waiting for the match to begin.

"Begin!"

Tenten jumped back instantly.

"Alright Tenten keep her guessing!" Lee cheered.

"Go for it! You've got the power of youth!" Gai yelled.

"Come on Tenten send that girl back to her village on a stretcher! We're behind you all the way Tenten!" Lee yelled.

Naruto's eye brow twitched, "Lee, Guy-sensei, I would appreciate it very much if you'd stop yelling." The blonde growled in annoyance.

Yamato sweat-dropped, _'That's the first time I've seen him so annoyed.'_

"What are you waiting for? I did say to begin." Hayate eyed them both.

"Hmph, guess she's waiting for me to make a move. Big mistake, cause the first move I make will be the last one you see." Temari smirked taking a step forward making Tenten step back.

"Come on I don't want this match to be over too quickly, so why don't you go first?" Temari made a mocking gesture, "Come on girl show me what you've got."

"Okay if you insist, remember you asked for it." Tenten jumped in the air sending three shuriken at her, Temari just stood still with a smirk and all of a sudden the shuriken were down on the ground.

"I missed her?! There's just no way!" Tenten said in disbelief.

"What was that, a warm up exercise? Or maybe you're a little nervous and its effected your aim, is that it?" Temari mocked.

Tenten grunted.

"Rats and I was hoping to work up a sweat, but forget that idea this is the best you've got." Temari smirked.

Tenten glared.

"What is going on how could she have missed it is incredible!" Lee looked in disbelief.

"It's impossible! Tenten's aim is perfect! She always hits her mark!" Guy said.

"Not this time she didn't." Neji stated.

"She never misses," Guy insisted, "There must've been something, that _made_ her miss."

"Huh?" Lee said in confusion.

"You know, you can always count on Temari to put on a good show." Kankuro commented.

"Big deal." Gaara said uncaring.

Naruto heard it for a split second, but he was sure he heard it. The sound of wind. So that was it then. Tenten is a weapons expert while Temari is a wind user, that's why her weapons missed their mark.

"Sunagakure wins this one again." Naruto stated.

"Yeah." Shikamaru agreed.

"Like you guys said, this ones over." Choji agreed.

 _'_ _Okay stay calm, don't let her get to you.'_ Tenten thought, _'One…two…three…she must've dodged them somehow, but if I try a different approach…'_

 _'_ _Look at her measuring her distance. Here come her big move.'_ Temari grabbed the fan on her back.

 _'_ _So that's her secret, that fan she carries. Okay.'_ Tenten then ran around Temari taking out a scroll.

"Alright, try this on for size!" Tenten said jumping up in the air twirling the scroll around sending a barrage of weapons at the girl only for Temari to deflect them quickly without anyone noticing rendering them useless and on the ground.

Tenten landed back down to the arena, "No way! She's stopped everything I've threw! What has she got in that fan of hers?!"

Temari smirked, "Take a look, this is the first moon. There are two more."

Tenten glared at her.

"When you see all three moons you'll know…you've lost the match." Temari stated.

"Tenten! Do not play your opponents game! Maintain focus! Maintain focus!" Lee yelled.

 _'_ _I know Lee, I know! Well, I was planning on saving this for the finals not waste it on the Preliminary round, but it may be now or never.'_ Tenten smiled taking two scrolls out.

"She's using that already?" Guy questioned.

Neji said nothing and simply observed.

 _'_ _At this point it doesn't matter what she uses, it's not gonna help her win the match.'_ Naruto thought.

"Ha! It won't work whatever it is." Temari stated.

Tenten ignored her and got to work, bending down she performed the hand signs, Tiger → Dragon → Monkey → Hare → Snake → Cross Arms: "Sōshōryū (Rising Twin Dragons)!" there was a burst of light as clouds gathered blinding everyone and soon two scrolls danced in the air as Tenten propelled herself upwards sending a barrage of weapons at Temari.

"Heh, doesn't matter how many you throw at me," Temari flipped her fan open a little more, "It's all the same, moon number two!" she sent the weapons flying with just a wave of her fan.

Tenten came back down from the ground, "I'm not done!" she jumped back in the air again and used a ninja wire to pick up all the weapons and send them back at Temari, _'I've got her now!'_

Temari giggled and sent her flying right along with her weapons making her skid to the floor, when she sat up she saw the fan was all the way open.

"Moon number three." Temari grinned then disappeared using her fan.

Tenten's eyes widened, _'Where did she go? She's…she's gone!'_

"Over here!"

Tenten looked behind her and saw that Temari was gliding on her fan smirking up at her before she landed before her, "Now it's my turn."

"Kamaitachi no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Wind Scythe Jutsu)!" Temari waved her fan and sent a wind cyclone at Tenten engulfing her and sending her high in the air.

"Tenten!" Lee yelled.

Tenten's arms were cut up as where her clothes as she was completely defenseless in the air.

Neji looked up, "Temari's chakra is controlling the vortex."

Lee looked at him in confusion.

"She fought well, but she'll never escape from that whirlwind. It's over." Neji said.

Tenten came out of the whirlwind and landed right on Temari's fan on her back making her cough up blood.

"Geez…talk about ruthless." Kiba commented.

"Tenten." Lee looked down.

"Wasn't much of a match, kind of boring." Temari stated looking at Tenten with disappointment.

"To be able to stop everyone of Tenten's attacks like that." Guy commented.

"I still cannot believe it." Lee said.

"Yep, looks like another win for Sunagakure just like you two said it would be." Choji said.

"Well of course that's why we said it." Shikamaru said.

"Well we're guaranteed a clean sweep in this round." Kankuro commented.

"Hmph." Gaara grunted.

 _'_ _These guys aren't messing around.'_ Kiba gulped.

"The winner of the fifth match…Temari." Hayate announced.

Temari smirked.

Naruto felt malicious intent, "Lee, get down there."

Lee looked over at him in confusion, "What?"

"Just do it!" the blonde yelled.

"Right!" Lee jumped down just in time as Temari threw Tenten off her fan and towards the sharp weapons on the ground but Lee caught her just in time.

Temari smiled, "Hey, nice catch."

"What is wrong with you?! She may have loss but that is no way to treat an opponent who has done her best!" Lee yelled.

Temari slammed her fan down, "Oh beat it. And take that sack of garbage with you."

Lee charged at her.

"No Lee! Lee!" Neji yelled.

"Konoha Senpū (Leaf Hurricane)!" Lee sent a kick her way only for Naruto to appear out of nowhere and grab the boy's leg, "What?!"

"Just calm down," Naruto told him, "When its your turn to fight then you can go wild as much as you want, but right now you need to be calm."

Lee nodded as Naruto brought his leg down and went over by Tenten picking her up gently as the medics came to get her, 'Thank you, Naruto-kun.'

Naruto said nothing and walked back towards the stand as did Temari who was standing next to her brother, "Did any of you see him move?"

"I didn't, kid's got some speed." Kankuro complemented while shuddering at the memory of the blonde pointing a sword at hid throat

Gaara was staring at Naruto intently.

Kurotsuchi was glaring holes at the boy.

Naruto stood next to Yamato, "These Preliminaries are getting more brutal."

"That they are." Yamato complimented.

"Those guys from Suna are strong." Sakura said appearing next to him.

"Welcome back from dream land." Naruto commented.

Sakura smiled.

The names shuffled again landing on two names, Yamato told Naruto who was fighting next making the blonde's lip twitch in amusement, "This should be good."

 **Shikamaru Nara**

 **vs.**

 **Kin Tsuchi**

Shikamaru walked down to the arena with his hands in his pockets, "Guess its me."

Dosu turned to Kin, "Remember he manipulates shadow's. Watch the shadow's."

"Heh, you'd think I'd fall for a stupid jutsu like that?" Kin scoffed walking down to the arena standing in front of Shikamaru.

"Troublesome, I mean give me a break I've gotta fight a girl?" Shikamaru sighed.

"Yeah you just keep thinking that way little man." Kin said.

"Ready? The sixth match, Shikamaru and Kin…Begin!" Hayate announced.

"It's all I've got," Shikamaru made the Rat hand sign.

"Your not trying that stupid shadow thing again are you?" Kin mocked.

"Shut your mouth!" Shikamaru said annoyed, "Kagemane no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu)."

"Is that all you know? If that's the only trick you've got then this is gonna be easier than I thought." Kin dodged the shadow and threw two senbon needles at him that had bells attached to them.

Shikamaru ducked and looked over at the senbon needles.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Bells, huh?"

"Bells?" Shikamaru observed standing up, "Heh, oh please not that old trick. Let me guess, next you'll send senbon needles with bells, and senbon needles without bells at the same time. I'll react to the bells, and while I'm focused on dodging them I wont notice the silent needles coming at me, am I right? Heh, good luck."

"You sure talk a lot don't you?" Kin smiled throwing more senbon at him.

Shikamaru dodged them, "Now I know to be careful to dodge all the senbon, not just the ones with the bells."

Naruto heard the bells ring and felt a familiar presence in the air, "Genjutsu? Using bells?"

"So you picked up on that then, huh?" Zabuza grinned.

Shikamaru picked up on the sound and looked behind him, "What? Where?"

"So I was right, she's using Genjutsu with the bells attached to the senbon." Naruto said.

Haku nodded, "I myself have no need to use Genjutsu, but I am impressed that she is using senbon to activate it."

"Your skills are better." Zabuza scoffed.

Haku smiled.

Shikamaru noticed something attached to one of the bells, _'Threads?'_ he turned behind him, "Oh man!"

"Too late!" Kin said throwing more needles at Shikamaru getting his arm but he stayed standing.

"Heh, not bad but you've still lost." Kin smirked activating the Genjutsu using the bells, creating more of her, "With this many of me you wont know where to aim your shadow at, face it little man you've lost."

Shikamaru smirked taking her off guard, "Gotcha."

"What?" Kin questioned then noticed her arm go slack, "What's wrong? Can't move my arm!"

"Looks like my lame Shadow Jutsu was a success after all." Shikamaru said.

"But you haven't thrown any shadows, no way I made sure of it!" Kin protested looking down.

"Heh, you really still don't see it?" Shikamaru smirked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kin questioned.

"Look at that thread your holding," Shikamaru said, "Don't you find it a little strange that it would even cast a shadow at this height?" as if to prove his point the shadow below her expanded, "Course you didn't notice it because you were concentrating on other things like killing me."

Kin grunted, "The shadow…spreading all around me, and I didn't see it coming."

"Right, I stretched my shadow along the line of that thread and followed it back now I'm attached you." Shikamaru said raising her arm.

"And now? So, we mirror each other's movements, so what? A cute trick but what do you gain by it?" Kin mocked.

"Man, your annoying, shut up and watch." Shikamaru said opening his pouch and taking out a shuriken, Kin following his every move.

"You must be insane! If you throw that shuriken at me, you'll just be attacking yourself!" She said.

"Makes it kinda interesting doesn't it?" Shikamaru smiled.

"You wouldn't. You couldn't." Kin said.

"Yeah? Like a game of chicken, let's see who ducks first!" Shikamaru threw the shuriken.

"Your crazy!" Kin yelled as she did the same thing as he did.

Everyone watched with worry as Shikamaru bent backwards to avoid being hit.

"Big deal I'll do that to-" she bonked her head hard on the wall behind her.

"And that's what I call using your head," Shikamaru stood up, "The wise shinobi carefully scouts the physical layout of the battlefield. And never loses his sight of the position on it."

"Winner of the sixth match, Shikamaru Nara!" Hayate declared.

"Atta boy, Shikamaru!" Ino cheered.

"Yeah, wait a go!" Choji cheered.

Naruto smiled, _'Shikamaru may act lazy, but when it comes to strategy he's the best.'_

"This years Rookies are looking to be quite a challenge." Neji eyed Hinata.

Hinata could feel her cousin glare on her but she wasn't paying attention she had been keeping her eyes on the ninja from Iwa since the battles started. Their presence unnerving her greatly.

The names shuffled again and Yamato frowned when he saw who was going next, Kakashi was worried as was the Sandaime who was still there observing the battles.

 **Naruto Uzumaki**

 **vs.**

 **N. Kurame**

"Judging by your reaction I take it it's my turn now, right?" Naruto said.

"Your up against someone from Iwa." Yamato frowned.

Naruto's lip twitched as he walked down the arena, the other Genin were wondering why the Jounin suddenly got so tense.

N was smirking as he watched the Yellow Flash's offspring before him, _'Just my luck. I finally get to fight and its against that bastards son! And to make things even better he's blind! I'm gonna enjoy killing him in front these Konoha scumbags!'_

Kurotsuchi gripped the railing, _'You wont be getting out of this battle alive Yellow Flash! We'll avenge our village!'_

N scoffed, "This will be easy, and don't even think about forfeiting because I wont let you."

Naruto smiled taking him off guard, "That's cute, but I would prefer it if you'd forfeit yourself. I would hate to have to kill you in front of your teammates, but something tells me you have no plans in doing so."

"W-What? Kakashi-sensei Naruto's not serious about killing him is he?" Sakura looked at the silver haired Jounin.

"He might have to, considering who his opponent is and where he's from." Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the Iwa Genin.

"What do you mean by that?" Shikamaru wondered.

Zabuza chuckled getting their attention, "I almost feel bad for that Iwa brat…almost."

"Naruto-san will show him no mercy, poor thing." Haku smiled.

Ino sweat-drooped, "You guys are seriously scaring me."

N scoffed, "Ha! You kill me? Don't make me laugh."

"Your heartbeat tells a different story," Naruto smirked, "It's beating pretty fast, are you scared or nervous?"

N glared at him.

"Glaring are we?" Naruto tilted his head in amusement.

The boy's eyes widened in shock, "You…"

Hayate could sense the tension and hope he wouldn't have to step in, "Seventh match, Naruto Uzumaki and N Kurame…Begin!"

N jumped back and performed the hand signs, Ram → Horse → Dragon: "Doton: Doryūdan (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb)!" a dragon made of mud appeared and shot towards Naruto who was completely calm.

Naruto summoned a shadow clone giving it his sword and did his own hand sign, Ox → Dog → Rat: "Fūton: Fuuheki (Wind Release: Wind Wall)." A swirling stream of wind encased Naruto protecting him from the attack rendering it useless.

Asuma was impressed, "Huh, I didn't know Naruto has a wind affinity."

"Neither did I." Kurenai commented.

Kakashi didn't know either. Just what else is Naruto keeping from him?

"Whoa…I had no idea Naruto was thing strong." Choji was amazed by the wind wall.

"Yeah but he's not stronger than Sasuke." Ino waved her hand.

"Naruto-kun is stronger than Sasuke." Hinata spoke up surprising everyone,

"He always has been, he just sees no reason to flaunt it in front of everyone because it holds no interest for him." She said calmly.

"Basically, Naruto's been holding back since the very beginning." Shikamaru eyed the blonde.

N grit his teeth in frustration, "Let's see you block this!" he yelled, "Doton: Ganchūsō (Earth Style: Stone Column Spears)!" rock spears appeared from the ground but Naruto wasn't worried about it.

He clapped his hands together, "Fūton: Reppūshō (Wind Style: Gale Palm)." Compressed wind transforming into a powerful gale shredded the spikes before they could get to him and knocked N into the stonewall behind him. He slid down from the wall in pain but got up slowly glaring at the blonde.

"Amazing! Naruto-kun's flames of youth are simply amazing!" Lee was impressed with his rival.

"Damn, Naruto really was holding back all this time." Kiba smirked.

"His opponent though…he's seriously trying to kill him. Why?" Choji was a bit disturbed.

The Jounin didn't know how to answer that so they didn't, Hiruzen was impressed with Naruto's growth, "He's grown to be an amazing shinobi."

Anko smirked, "Damn, I really like this kid. I should take him under my wing."

"Get in line." Ibiki smirked.

Yamato who heard them snapped his head in their direction, "Absolutely not! It's bad enough this one decided to teach him!"

"Huh?" Zabuza was about to take his sword off his back but Haku stopped him.

"The hell is that supposed to mean Wood Boy?!" Anko yelled.

Yamato sputtered, "What kind of nickname is that?!"

"Will you two kindly shut the hell up?" Ibiki glared at them both.

The Genin sweat-dropped. Crazy ass adults.

Naruto could feel his opponent's glare, "Glaring at me again, huh?"

N was taken back, "How did you…?"

"Now that would be telling." Naruto mimicked Anko.

"We should be friends!" Anko yelled out in pure joy.

"NO!" Yamato and Hiruzen yelled in unison.

N got ready to use another hand sign, but Naruto's voice stopped him, "Your about to use another hand sign, aren't you?" he was having a little fun freaking his opponent out. He had no clue whether he was performing hand signs or not, he just took a guess.

He froze in his tracks, "You…but how…?!"

Naruto gave him a sinister smile making his blood run cold, "You see…there are many advantages to being blind. Can you guess what it is?"

N didn't answer and instead got into a Taijutsu stance making Naruto's ear's twitch, "Your taking up a fighting stance right now."

N's eyes winded as did everyone else's.

"How did Naruto know that?!" Ino wondered.

Lee was observing his rival wondering the same thing until he finally got it, "That's it!"

"What's it?" Kiba wondered.

"Naruto-kun is truly a worthy rival! So that's how he knew!" Lee was getting excited now.

Shikamaru was curious to know what the hell he was talking about but decided to watch the match.

Naruto took his sword back from the clone, "To be honest with you, I would prefer it of you'd forfeit. Will you?"

"Like hell I will!" N snarled.

Naruto sighed, "I see…that's too bad then," he unsheathed his long sword taking everyone by surprise, "Guess that means I need to come at you with the intent to kill since its obvious your doing the very same," he said coldly, "Fūton: Shinkūjin (Wind Style: Vacuum Blade)." Exhaling wind chakra into the blade engulfing it in wind-incased chakra.

The blonde appeared before his opponent quickly as though it were a blink of an eye not giving his opponent any time to prepare or counter anything he was about to do, "Shiroi Senkō (White Flash)." With a quick strike he slashed his opponents front side making him cry out in pain and sent him flying away from him rolling on the floor a few times before coming to a stop. N stood up slowly clutching his front side, there was visible blood on the floor.

"My god…" Kurenai's eyes were shaking.

"What…what was that…? The blade's surrounded in wind chakra…" Sakura's words were shaky.

"Fūton: Shinkūjin (Wind Style: Vacuum Blade)," Yamato spoke getting their attention, "It's a wind style jutsu that allows the user to surround any weapon they have in their possession with wind chakra making the object sharper and easy to kill their opponents."

"You taught him that?" Kakashi questioned.

"I didn't, Naruto was determined to learn it all on his own without any help and his efforts paid off. His opponent wants to kill him battle, so he's responding to the threat by doing the exact same thing." Yamato stated calmly.

"Yeah…but still," Kiba gulped, "You really think Naruto will kill him…?"

"I'm not sure, though it seems like the logical choice to do so." Shino stated.

Hinata was hoping he wouldn't have to get his hands dirty, but knew that he had to do what he had to do.

Temari grinned, "Finally another wind user, and he knows what he's doing too!"

Kankuro sweat-dropped, "Man am I glad he went easy on me the first time we met."

Gaara was grinning with anticipation of fighting the blonde.

Killer Bee was grinning, "Hey yo, Konoha ninja kicking ass, fool ya fool!"

"He seems the strongest out of the bunch." Omoi observed.

Yugito nodded in complete agreement.

Kurotsuchi was glaring down at Naruto, "Damn him…!"

"I've never seen N backed into a corner like this before." Akatsuchi's eyes were shaking.

Naruto could hear N's rapid breathing, he didn't cut him too deep but he was probably in shock and it was struggle just to stand and stay steady, "You really should just forfeit and let the medics take you, otherwise you might really die."

"Screw you Konoha trash!" N spat out gripping his wound tightly.

Naruto sighed, "Fine. Have it your way then." He did the familiar hand signs, Ox → Snake → Ram.

Kakashi's eyes widened, "Zabuza! What were you thinking?!"

Zabuza grinned, "That the kid has potential to surpass me, that's why I taught it to him."

"And what exactly is that?" Guy wondered curiously.

Sakura's eyes widened, "Those hand signs…it can't be…"

"What? What is it, Sakura?" Ino wanted to know as did everyone else.

"That's the…" Sakura stared.

Naruto finished it the hand signs and executed the jutsu, "Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu)." Mist began to form out of nowhere obscuring everyone's view of the battle.

"What's going on?! Where did all this mist come from?!" Kiba was trying to see but couldn't.

Neji activated his Byakugan and tried peering down but found he couldn't, "This mist is so thick that my Byakugan can't see through it."

"What?! How is that possible?!" Lee was surprised anything could obscure the Byakugan's vision.

Guy's eyes widened, "That jutsu…it's used by the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist. Its their signature jutsu they use it to hide in the mist and slaughter their opponents quickly and precisely. Only those from Kirigakure use it."

"But then how does Naruto know it?" Choji questioned.

"Me." Zabuza said getting their attention, "I used to be one of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist kiddies, Zabuza Momochi at your service."

The Genin's paled. What the hell was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist doing here in Konoha?!

"Zabuza, you taught him that jutsu?!" Yamato yelled.

Zabuza shrugged his shoulders, "The kids water affinity impressive, so have his sword skills thanks to me. The kid's earned my respect so I deemed him worthy of knowing our signature jutsu and he's using it perfectly."

Haku nodded, "You have taught him well Zabuza-sama. I am proud of his achievement."

Anko was jumping with excitement, "Holy shit! This is freaking awesome! I should have made a bet on this battle!"

Ibiki smirked.

Hiruzen's eyes were wide, "He managed to execute one of Kirigakure's most known jutsu right before our eyes. Impressive."

N was looking around trying to find his opponent but didn't hear anything it was like everything was silent, "Where the hell are you?!"

"Eight points," Naruto's voice sounded in human making everyone flinch at his cold tone, "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidney's, heart. Which point should I take? I like them all." His voice sounded like it was coming from all over the place.

Zabuza howled with laughter, "You gotta love this kid!"

"Zabuza-sama, he seems to have taken after your personality somewhat." Haku told him.

Yamato gave Zabuza his scary face, "Zabuza…I warned you."

"Oh don't get your panties in a twist," Zabuza rolled his eyes, "This is freaking hilarious."

Everyone was on edge wondering what would happen next but didn't hear anything.

Meanwhile inside the mist N was still trying to sense Naruto somewhere, anywhere but couldn't, _'Where…Where the hell is he?'_ he didn't think about it too long because he was slashed in the shoulder making him cry our in pain and look around gripping his shoulder tightly, _'What?! But I didn't even hear him!'_

Naruto got him again in the leg making him cry out in pain once more and fall to the ground breathing heavily.

"Damn…you…where the hell…are you…?" N panted.

"I am everywhere and I am nowhere," Naruto's voice sounded throughout the mist, "I'm in front of you, I'm behind you, I'm to your left, I'm to your right. Where am I?"

N couldn't take it anymore, his wounds were starting bleed and it felt as though he was being toyed with by some inhuman monster that thrives off killing, _'What is this?! I-I can't take it! He could come at me from anywhere! Dammit!'_ his body started shaking and he howled, "DAMN YOU!"

Naruto appeared before him after his little rage moment, Snake → Ram → Horse → Hare → Ram → Horse → Hare → Hands spread in front palms out: "Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu)."

N found himself in a water sphere and unable to breath he was moving around trying to get free but with is wounds it wasn't really helping. The mist soon resided and everyone saw that Naruto had his opponent trapped in a familiar jutsu that Sakura and Kakashi knew quite well.

"That's the same jutsu Zabuza used against Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura recognized.

"You taught him that to?" Kakashi was surprised Naruto executed the jutsu so well.

"Yeah, but ours is completely different. I used mine and let you breath in it…the kids not doing that to his opponent." Zabuza stated.

Everyone looked down and saw that Naruto's opponent was indeed suffocating and gasping for air.

Naruto walked over bending down to feel for his scabbard, when he found it and sealed his sword back up then looked over at his opponent, "I think you should stop trying to move inside that water prison because your only making things worse, and with those wounds of yours it'll bring you more pain."

N was still struggling to breath but he felt his vision get blurry and cloudy and soon his eyes began to close slowly, _'D-Damn it…I lost…to the Yellow Flash…'_

"By the way, when I asked you to forfeit earlier I was saying that out of the goodness of my heart, don't worry though you won't die just sleep for a little while." Naruto said as N finally passed out. The blonde dispelled the water prison and N fell to the ground, Hayate was by his side in an instant checking his pulse.

Hayate sighed and stood up, "Winner of the seventh match by knockout…Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto smiled as he walked towards the stand where everyone else was and found his hand grabbed by someone, "Naruto-kun, your flames of youth are most amazing! Please spar with me!" Lee said in an excited tone.

Naruto smiled nervously, "Um…sure. But maybe some other time, okay?"

"YOSH!" Lee yelled.

Naruto winced at the volume, _'I should wear my earplugs around him too.'_ He thought as he walked and stood next to Sakura, "I'm tired."

"Naruto…that was amazing…" Sakura found the will to speak.

"I wouldn't call what I did amazing, I was just fighting an opponent that's all." Naruto stated.

"Dude that was soo badass! I didn't think you were this strong!" Kiba grinned.

"Quit the interesting match, Naruto-san." Shino nodded.

Hinata smiled standing next to him, "I'm glad you didn't have to kill him."

"I was debating about it, but I think damaging his pride would be much more fun. He lost to a blind ninja, I cant imagine what they'll say about him after this." Naruto smirked.

Zabuza laughed his ass off, "Kid's completely ruthless! I love it!"

"Me too! Hey Kakashi can I borrow him for awhile?" Anko asked.

Kakashi sighed, "No Anko, and judging by Yamato's face he wont allow it either."

Anko pouted, "You guys are no fun."

Kurotsuchi glared at Naruto gripping the railing tightly, "Bastard…I'll avenge N…I swear…!"

"He won without getting a single scratch on him, kids dangerous." Omoi complimented.

Killer Bee was impressed with Konoha's Jinchuriki. It was obvious the kid had some hidden potential.

The names shuffled again getting everyone's attention. Two named were selected.

 **Kurotsuchi**

 **vs.**

 **Hiroshi**

"Huh, an Iwa nin going up against an Ame nin, huh?" Omoi observed.

"Another ninja from Iwa is fighting, huh? And its against someone from Ame." Asuma looked down.

"Wait a minute, I recognize that girl. She's the Tsuchikage's granddaughter!" Kurenai stared at Kurotsuchi.

"Are you serious? Why would that old man send his own granddaughter here?" Asuma questioned.

"You know how Iwagakure is, something like having the Tsuchikage's granddaughter participate in the exams isn't unexpected." Kakashi reminded.

"Hmph, every single person from that village are nothing more but arrogant assholes." Zabuza grunted.

Haku nodded in agreement.

Kurotsuchi was fighting a male ninja from Ame. She was smirking the whole way eager to prove why Iwagakure is the more superior village.

Hayate looked at them both, "Here we go, the eighth match. Kurotsuchi and Hiroshi…begin!"

Kurotsuchi wasted no time and sent a kick towards Hiroshi's gut sending him flying away from her but he got right back up and threw senbon needles at her. She then did something that took everyone by surprise, she started flying in the air and simply hovered there smirking down at her opponent.

"What the hell?! She can fly?!" Kiba yelled.

"I'm not surprised, she is after all the Tsuchikage's granddaughter." Yamato stated.

"Yeah, that old man can fly too." Asuma said.

Kurotsuchi smirked at her opponent's dumbfounded expression, "Heh, let's get this party started then, Tiger → Rat: "Yōton: Kaisekifū no Jutsu (Lava Style: Ash Stone Sealing Jutsu)!" she spewed thick black ash at her opponent binding his movements preventing him from even lifting a finger.

Naruto was wondering if he he'd heard her correctly, "Did I hear that right? Did she just say, Yōton (Lava Style)?"

"You heard her correctly, she said just that." Haku said.

"And here I thought people from Iwagakure only had Doton (Earth Release), guess she comes from a clan." Naruto said.

"Yōton (Lava Style)?" Sakura questioned.

"Back in Kirigakure another person I know has the same ability. Lava Style is no joke and you don't wanna be on the receiving end of it at all." Zabuza told them seriously.

Kurotsuchi decided to end it. Literally. Making the Bird hand sign she decided to finish him off, "Doton: Doryūsō (Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears)!" an earth spike appeared from the ground impaling Hiroshi right in the gut killing him instantly.

Sakura had both hands to her mouth in horror, Ino looked sick, Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand, the others had various reactions from disbelief to anger.

Hayate looked a little disgusted himself before remembering this girl is from Iwagakure and that this is normal where their from, "Winner of the eighth match by…death. Kurotsuchi."

Kurotsuchi simply smirked and flew back up to stand next to Akatsuchi.

"That was uncalled for! The guy was pinned down!" Kiba growled.

"She's from Iwagakure Kiba, not to mention she's the Tsuchikage's granddaughter. She's probably just copying the way he acts all the time." Naruto theorized, _'I can't believe she actually killed him in front of everyone. Even though Hayate-sensei said killing is allowed I don't even think he was expecting it himself.'_

The medic crew came and got the dead Ame ninja out of the black ash, placing him a body bag before whisking him off. Other ninja came and got the field back to normal again.

Hayate coughed, "Alright, onto the next match." The names on the screen shuffled before landing on two names.

 **Karui**

 **vs.**

 **Akatsuchi**

"Three times in a row? Is this a coincidence or was this planned?" Zabuza raised a brow.

"I'm not sure, Zabuza-sama." Haku said.

Both competitors faced each other as they were down in the arena. Naruto felt intense hatred and looked over at Hinata, "Is Neji glaring?"

"He is, he's glaring at the girl Karui." Hinata said, "She's from Kumogakure."

"That explains it then." Naruto said.

Karui had her sword drawn and Akatsuchi got ready himself, Hayate looked at them, "The ninth match, Karui and Akatsuchi…begin!"

Karui made the first move charging at Akatsuchi taking a swing at him, but he dodged just in time and jumped back, Seal of Confrontation: "Doton: Gōremu no Jutsu (Earth Style: Earth Golem Jutsu)!" expelling from his mouth he found himself covered in earth protecting his entire body.

"So that's your defense, huh? Well let's see it counter this!" Karui brought her sword in the air, "Rairyū no Tatsumaki (Ninja Art: Thunder Dragon Tornado)!" there was lightning that gathered around her blade and soon a lightning dragon appeared, with a roar it shot towards the earth protected Akatsuchi slamming into it and causing smoke to appear as well as shake the place a little bit.

When the smoke cleared they saw the golem start to fall apart and Akatsuchi was panting a little bit giving Karui that chance to end it charging at him quickly she got to work, "Kumo-Ryū Omotegiri (Cloud Style: Front Slice)!" using the back of her sword she swiped at Akatsuchi making him cry out in pain and sent him backwards. He landed on his back and didn't get back up again.

Hayate called it, "Winner of the ninth match. Karui."

"YEAH!" Killer Bee yelled.

Kiba smirked, "I may not like those guys from Kumo but I don't like the guys from Iwa even less."

Naruto had doubts about the match, it felt as though Akatsuchi was holding back and let himself lose the match. Little did he know he was right because Kurotsuchi smirked, her and Akatsuchi discussed that it was best she'd advance to the finals and take Naruto out. But she knew his true skill and it was wasted on these idiots.

The names shuffled again before landing on two set of names that took everyone by surprise.

 **Hinata Hyūga**

 **vs.**

 **Neji Hyūga**

Neji smirked, "I didn't think my revenge would come so soon."

Hinata was surprisingly calm and walked down to the arena not seeing her teammates and sensei's worried look.

"Hinata." Naruto called out making her stop and look over at him, "Don't hurt him too badly."

Hinata smiled, "Of course not. He's family." She finally made it down to the arena facing Neji.

Kurenai was confused by Hinata's behavior, _'She doesn't seem worried at all…did something happen?'_

Naruto smiled, _'Maybe now Neji will finally snap out of it.'_

Kiba and Shino were worried, even though Shino didn't show it. Neji is completely ruthless and wouldn't hesitate to kill Hinata at all. They could only hope that their teammate would be okay.

Neji and Hinata faced each other, "I didn't expect to fight you in the Preliminaries."

"Nor I Neji-nii-san." Hinata said calmly.

"Brother? Their siblings?" Sakura questioned.

"Their cousins," Naruto said getting their attention, "In the Hyūga household their divided into the Main House and Branch House. Hinata is from the Main House while Neji is from the Branch House, which is considered the lower part of the clan. There's still some animosity amongst between the two houses, with the Branch House hating the Main House's guts."

"Interesting," Kakashi said, "And how do you know all this?"

"Because I've been going over to the Hyūga complex ever since I was five years old, that's how." Naruto told him nonchalantly.

"What?!" Kiba yelled.

Naruto simply shrugged, "Hiashi doesn't mind me coming over and neither do the elders for some reason. The Branch and Main house don't mind me all that much either."

Kurenai had no idea Naruto was spending so much time at the Hyūga Compound, let alone close enough to interact with the clan.

Hayate was looking in between them nervously, this was one battle they were hoping to avoid, "Tenth match, Hinata Hyūga and Neji Hyūga…begin!"

Neji activates his Byakugan instantly and stared at Hinata who stared back unnerved by his staring, "I suggest you forfeit Hinata-sama, a failure like you has no chance of defeating me."

Hinata didn't respond and simply took off her jacket much to his and everyone's confusion except Naruto who didn't know she took it off until Yamato told him. He began to smirk, _'So she took her jacket off, huh? I feel sorry for Neji now.'_

Hinata folded her jacket gently and handed it over to a confused Hayate who took it still blinking in confusion. Hinata then went back over to face Neji, then took off her headband that was around her neck and wrapped it around her forehead instead before activated her Byakugan.

"What kind of pathetic display was that? Are you trying to prove something?" Neji mocked.

Hinata pointed two fingers at him uttering the words that made Naruto shiver, "Lock…on."

Naruto flinched, "He's screwed."

Neji didn't have time to mock her because he had to block a Jūken aimed right at him, a soon as he blocked it he was sent flying backwards much to his shock and confusion and the pain he felt when he blocked it was stinging badly. She came at him again not giving him time to recover at all coming at him quickly and precisely.

 _'_ _What is this?'_ Neji grunted, _'Her speed and strikes are better than they were before! But how?!'_ a kick to his gut knocked him out of his thoughts sending him backwards again putting one hand to his stomach glaring at Hinata who stood there looking at him emotionally as though she were in a trance.

Kiba's eyes widened, "Whoa…Hinata's completely different from when she she's with us on missions."

Shino nodded in agreement, "That's right, I've never seen her this calm before."

Naruto sighed, "Hinata's other side has just appeared. It's scarier everytime."

"Other side?" Sakura questioned.

"See…I told Hinata that she can still be her normal self when she's not fighting and she took it to heart. When she's not fighting she's normal Hinata, but when she starts fighting she becomes completely different. We called the other personality…Awakened Hinata." Naruto explained.

"Awakened Hinata?" Shikamaru raised a brow.

"It's what we call the Hinata that isn't afraid to take down an opponent she believes is a threat and actually shows no mercy. But that's only when she fights seriously, which is now." Naruto said.

"She's not gonna kill Neji is she?" Yamato questioned.

"Of course not." Naruto said immediately.

Neji straightened himself, "I'll admit I'm surprised, but your still and always will be a failure." He charged at her and she stood there waiting for him to come, as soon as he did she maneuvered around his strikes with ease, twirling and moving around with such grace as though she were dancing frustrating him more.

 _'_ _Why?'_ he sent another strike only for her block it safely and get him in the stomach sending him back but he came at her again, _'Why?'_ Hinata kept moving around before getting his arm making him jump back and used his palm to get some feeling back in his arm again, _'Why can't I hit her?! Why?!'_

Hinata came at him so he decided to use his trump card, _'I can't believe she's forced me to use this!'_ he thought, Hinata sensed there was something up and jumped back just in time, "Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation)!" spinning around he created a blue sphere around him protecting him from any incoming attacks Hinata might throw at him.

Naruto blinked, "So he knows how to use Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation), huh? That's only taught by the Main House."

"He must've learned it all on his own." Yamato theorized.

"Pretty impressive." Kakashi complimented.

Neji stopped spinning then smirked at Hinata, "Surprised that someone from the Branch House knows this technique?"

"It's incomplete." Awakened Hinata said.

"What?" Neji raised a brow.

"You executed it that's true, but you haven't complete it yet and simply used an incomplete version but that doesn't mean it still doesn't have its intended effect." Awakened Hinata said honestly.

"And how would you know its incomplete?" Neji said trying not to show his surprise.

"Shall I show you?" a voice said from behind making his eyes widen and turn behind him but it was too late for him to do anything, "Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation)!" she did her version of the spin, but instead of blue it was purple and it sent him flying towards the real Hinata who got into a familiar stance, "I'm afraid its over now…Neji-nii-san."

"Jūkenhō: Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!" she sent two fingers at him as he was still flying towards her stopping him.

"Ni Shō (Two Palms)!"

"Yon Shō (Four Palms)!"

"Hachi Shō (Eight Palms)!"

"Jūroku Shō (Sixteen Palms)."

"Sanjūni Shō (Thirty-Two Palms)."

"Rokujūyon Shō (Sixty-Four Palms)!"

And with that she sent the final strike sealing Neji's fate as flew backwards landing on the floor hard and he didn't get back up. There was silence for a few minutes before Hayate finally called it, "Winner of the tenth match…Hinata Hyūga."

"HELL YEAH!" Kiba cheered.

Shino was glad his teammate managed to beat Neji.

Kurenai breathed a sigh of relief proud of Hinata's growth, _'You did well Hinata.'_

Naruto smiled, "She did it."

"Hinata-san's flames of youth are burning with passion!" Lee cheered.

Gai was glad Hinata managed to beat Neji because maybe now he can be free from the cage he put himself in by talking about fate.

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and untied her forehead protector wrapping it around her neck again before walking over to Neji who was conscious, "I lost."

She bent down and smiled at him, "Yes, but that's not a bad thing Neji-ni-san. I was really surprised when you used one of the Main Houses techniques, and in my opinion your is the best."

Neji stared at her, "Hinata-sama…"

"When I heard the uncle was used as the sacrifice I went and yelled at my father for the first time." She told him making his eyes widen in shock.

"I believed that he sacrificed uncle without a second thought, but I was wrong. Father…broke down in tears confessing his weakness for not being able to stop uncle for sacrificing himself for the sake of the Hyūga clan. Father was prepared to go himself but uncle wouldn't let him and incapacitated him out of defiance. Uncle had already made up his mind, and said that he had faith that you Neji-nii-san would be able to defy fate just as he did." She took his hand with a smile, "And I believe that too."

At this point Neji was crying as Hinata held his hand gently, "When the exams are over let's spar sometime, okay?"

Neji looked at her with a smile for the very first time, "Yes…Hinata-sama."

Naruto smiled, _'I'm happy for you…Hinata-chan.'_

The medics took Neji away and Hinata grabbed her jacket back from Hayate and walked up the stands and stood next to her teammates with a smile. The names on the board shuffled again and selected two names.

 **Kiba Inuzuka**

 **vs.**

 **Yugito Nii**

Yamato blinked, "Well now, that's interesting."

"Who's going next?" Naruto asked.

"Yugito Nii will be going up against Kiba." Yamato said.

 ** _"_** ** _Kit, she has Matatabi inside her." Kurama informed._**

 _'_ _Matatabi…which one was she again?'_ Naruto asked.

 ** _"_** ** _Nibi."_**

 _'_ _Gotcha.'_

Kiba grinned at Yugito who looked at him calmly, "Let's do this, Akamaru!"

"Arf!"

Yugito still looked completely calm.

"So he's going up against someone from Kumo, huh? Let's hope he does his best." Asuma said.

Hayate looked at them both, "You ready? For the eleventh match, Yugito Nii, Kiba Inuzuka…Begin!"

"Let's do this Akamaru!" Kiba exclaimed as Akamaru jumped down from his perch on inside Kiba's jacket. He made the Tiger hand sign, "Jūjin Bunshin (Man Beast Clone)!" Akamaru transformed into Kiba, the two of them growling at Yugito who still stood there calmly, "Gatsūga (Man-Beast Ultimate Taijutsu: Fang Over Fang)!" the two of them started spinning and right towards Yugito who stood completely still.

Yugito channeled the Nibi's chakra closing her eyes before she snapped them open. She took a deep breath, "Byōen Hōka (Flaming Cat Roar)!" sending a human size fireball at Kiba and Akamaru both they were engulfed in flames.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata yelled.

Everyone had their eyes covered as the flames were so bright that they couldn't help but cover their faces, the only exception was Naruto since he was blind and couldn't see anyway. When the flames died down, they saw Kiba and Akamaru were on the ground unconscious their bodies having burn marks on them but not that severe. They were shocked to see how fast the match ended.

Hayate called it still in shock himself, "Winner of the eleventh match…Yugito Nii."

Yugito bowed towards Hayate and walked back up to the stands with her team, while the medics took Kiba and Akamaru away.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered in surprise.

"No way…all it took was one jutsu and Kiba lost." Ino couldn't believe her eyes.

 _'_ _Those were some intense flames…maybe even more than Sasuke's. It felt like the heat would burn me alive.'_ Naruto thought.

The names shuffled again and landed on two names.

 **Omoi**

 **vs.**

 **Ume**

"Kumo going up against Ame again, huh?" Asuma observed.

Omoi and Ame stared at each other but Omoi was overthinking again as usual but this time it was inside his head.

"Alright then…for the twelfth match. Omoi and Ume…begin!" Hayate announced.

Omoi sighed and stuck his palm out, "Nothing personal dude," he said, "Raiton: Sandāboruto (Lightning Style: Thunderbolt)!" thunder cackled and was sent towards Ume electrocuting him into unconsciousness. Another battle ended very easily.

Hayate blinked, "Winner of the twelfth match…Omoi."

Omoi sighed and went back up to stand next to his team.

The names on the screen shuffled again and the names were selected making everyone's breath hitch.

 **Rock Lee**

 **vs.**

 **Gaara Sabaku**

"YOSH! It's finally my turn to show my flames of youth!" Lee jumped down from the railing and down towards the arena where Gaara was already waiting for him.

Lee noticed that the cork on Gaara's back was no where to be seen, "I see yo are very eager to start. I look forward to this fight."

"Hmph." Gaara responded.

"Twelfth match, Rock Lee and Gaara Sabaku…begin!"

Lee shot off like a bullet sending a kick towards Gaara only for it to be blocked by a sand shield, so he tried again but it was the same result. Lee was very fast though because he was blurring around Gaara pretty fast. The sand shinobi sent his sand to try and grab Lee but the green spandex boy was jumping around avoiding it.

"Wow…Lee's pretty fast." Sakura stared in awe.

"Yeah, no kidding." Ino agreed.

"He's fast but no fast enough to get through that sand shield that sand shinobi keeps using." Shikamaru told them.

Gai thought the same thing as he saw Lee jump high in the air to avoid another sand attack and stood on top of the statue, "Lee! Take them off!"

Lee over at Gai in surprise, "But, Gai-sensei!"

"It's fine Lee! This time I'm making an exception!" Gai told Lee.

Lee nodded and bent down to remove the weights from his leg warmers much to everyone's shock.

"Wait a minute! He's been wearing weights this whole time?!" Ino yelled.

Naruto blinked, "Huh, that's pretty cool."

"Wonder how much the weigh?" Sakura wondered.

"Now I'm ready!" Lee said having removed the weights from his legs and dropped them.

Temari scoffed inwardly, _'Taking off those weights isn't gonna make a difference.'_ She was forced to rethink that as she saw them fall and crash to the ground where they made a dent in the ground.

"What the…?" Choji stared.

"They were that heavy?!" Ino yelled.

Kakashi sighed, _'Only Gai…'_

Lee disappeared in a burst of speed charging at Gaara and the red heads sand instantly moved to protect him, only this time the sand wasn't strong enough and actually through! Before Gaara could do anything Lee disappeared in a burst of speed again making the red head look around trying to find green spandex wearing boy only to feel a force that kicked him in the head forcing him bend his knees forward.

"Gaara…he's been hit!" Temari cried out in shock.

Baki's eyes widened and Kankuro's jaw dropped. No one had ever been able to hit Gaara before, but this ninja managed to do just that!

Gaara tried using his sand again to try and crush Lee but the Genin was too fast and got the red haired sand shinobi right in the cheek.

Naruto's senses were all over the place proving that not even he could try and keep track of them, "Lee's moving so fast that its hard for me to sense him at all!"

Yamato shuddered, "That's what happens when you have Gai for a sensei."

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

Gaara got back on his feet with a grunt and everyone saw there was sand breaking off from his face, but that wasn't all…his face looked deranged.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, _'I feel bloodlust!'_

"No way! He has another shield?!" Sakura cried out.

"Gaara…he's starting to lose it!" Temari said voiced with worry for her brother.

 _'_ _That sand armor of his. There's a good chance it uses a lot of chakra.'_ Kakashi thought.

Lee unwrapped his bandages a little bit then sped ran around Gaara creating a whirlwind before kicking the boy in the chin. He then proceeded to kick him a few more times while in the air then wrapped his white bandages around the sand ninja, "Omote Renge (Primary Lotus)!" spinning Gaara around and drove him into the ground headfirst creating a massive explosion as he did so. Lee landed away from Gaara as he observed the state of his opponent breathing heavy as everyone else watched the motionless Gaara.

"He did it!" Sakura cried out.

Naruto wasn't so sure. Gaara's not the type to go down that easy that was a fact.

He was proven right when everyone saw Gaara dissolve into sand basically falling apart.

"He used a Kawarimi?! When?!" Gai cried.

"When you were praying earlier that's when." Kakashi told him.

Gaara appeared out of the sand with a crazed look in his eyes that unsettled everyone, he made a single hand sign and sent more sand at Lee who tried to block it as best he could but he was tossed around like a ragdoll but Lee managed regain his mobility and grinned.

"He's still able to keep going?" Ino questioned, "How?"

Gai smiled with pride, "Because…the Konoha Lotus blooms twice."

Kakashi looked over at him with a shocked expression, "Gai! Did you really teach him that?! What were you thinking?!"

Gai kept a calm expression as he spoke, "You heard me Kakashi. Taijutsu is the only way for Lee to become a shinobi and I have full faith in him."

"How many can he open?" Kakashi questioned.

"Five." Gai answered.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you guys talking about?" Sakura wondered.

Kakashi sighed, "What we're talking about are the Hachimon or The Inner Eight Gates. A series of specific eight tenketsu on a person Chakra Pathway System that can increase a person's chakra greatly once their open. The Hachimon are, Kaimon (The Gate of Opening), Kyūmon (The Gate of Healing), Seimon (The Gate of Life), Shōmon (The Gate of Pain), Tomon (The Gate of Limit), Keimon (The Gate of View), Kyōmon (The Gate of Wonder), and Shimon (The Gate of Death). Each of these gates grants the user a burst of power that is said to rival that of a Kage."

"Wow…" Sakura said.

"I get the feeling there's more to this." Naruto said.

"Yes, the more Gates you open the more strain it puts on your body. Prolonged use can result in the tearing of your muscles, and once you open the final Gate…you die." Kakashi explained.

"D-Die?" Hinata gasped.

"You shouldn't have taught him something that dangerous Gai! Are you trying to kill him?!" Kakashi yelled.

"You know nothing about that boy!" Gai shouted taking everyone off guard, "That boy means the world to me and I'm determined to help him become a powerful shinobi! Our relationship is the same as Yamato and Naruto!"

Kakashi felt a stab to the chest when Gai said that, and everyone else looked at both Yamato and Naruto. The blonde remained unconcerned by the stares, but he was curious why he was sensing guilt coming off from Kakashi. Something told him that Yamato might know.

Lee crossed his arms, _'The condition has been met!'_ a burst of chakra exploded from him, his skin turned red and veins appeared as he was surrounded in his own chakra, _'To defend…My Nindo!'_ the ground beneath him began to crack as it showed just how powerful opening one of the gates are. He came at Gaara in a burst of speed crashing into him literally and sending him high in the air delivering devastating blows _._

"His muscles are tearing!" Kakashi observed having his Sharingan out.

 _'_ _Neji, Sasuke, Naruto-kun. You three are the ones I want to fight the most!'_ Lee thought as he decided to deliver the final blow to Gaara. Using his white strap he pulled the sand shinobi back to him and delivered the final blow, "Ura Renge (Hidden Lotus)!" sending a kick to Gaara's stomach, the red haired boy was sent crashing down to the arena and Lee was rolling away no longer using one of the Eight Inner Gates.

"Gaara!" Temari and Kankuro shouted with worry.

The dust settled allowing everyone to see, Gaara used his sand to cushion the impact while Lee was far away from him on his back. Gaara raised his hand towards Lee as the boy tried to get up and get away but the sand had already enveloped his arm and leg, "Sabaku Kyū (Sand Coffin)!" Lee cried out in pain as he felt both his arm and leg be crushed by the sand. He rolled away from Gaara completely motionless.

"Die." Gaara sent another burst of sand towards Lee but it was intercepted by Gai who stood before his student protectively.

Gaara stood up slowly clutching his head in pain, "Why…save him…?"

"Because he's my precious student." Gai told him.

Gaara stared at him for a moment before walking away without a word.

"Winner of the-" Hayate was cut off as he saw Lee actually stand despite his arm and leg bleeding.

"He's unconscious." Yamato stated looking down at Lee's form.

"Lee, that's enough. You've done well." Gai complimented.

"Winner of the twelfth match by knockout…Gaara Sabaku." Hayate announced.

The medics came to get Lee immediately and carted him away for emergency treatment.

 _'_ _Lee you really are strong. I don't even think I can open the gates even if I tried.'_ Naruto thought.

"Why did he declare the match by knockout?" Sakura wondered.

"Because Lee would rather have lost due to a knockout rather than having lost because Gai-sensei intervened." Naruto said understanding that he would want the same thing if he was in Lee's position. Yamato had quite the protective streak when he wants.

The names shuffled again then landed on two names.

 **Choji Akimichi**

 **vs.**

 **Takeru**

"The winner of this match will face off against Dosu Kinuta," Hayate told them as both competitors made it down to the field, "Now for the thirteenth match…Choji Akimichi and Takeru…Begin!"

Choji went first, "Baika no Jutsu (Expansion Jutsu)!" his body swelled up to that of a balloon.

"What the-?!" his opponent yelled.

"Nikudan Sensha (Human Boulder)!" and just like that he ran over his opponent knocking him out pretty quickly much to everyone else's amusement. And with that the last Ame ninja was defeated.

"Well that didn't take long." Asuma smiled.

"Winner of the thirteenth match…Choji Akimichi," Hayate announced, "Dosu Kinuta please come down."

Dosu came down to the arena observing Choji.

"For the last match, Dosu Kinuta and Choji Akimichi…begin!" Hayate said.

"Baika no Jutsu (Expansion Jutsu)!" Choji expanded just like last time, "Nikudan Sensha (Human Boulder)!" he came rolling towards Dosu who simply held his arm out towards the boy.

"Kyōmeisen (Vibrating Sound Drill)." A series of vibrations stopped Choji in his tracks before the boy was forced out of his jutsu and unconscious.

"Choji!" Shikamaru and Ino yelled.

Hayate went over towards Choji and sighed, "Winner by knockout…Dosu Kinuta."

"Will all of the winners please come forward." Hayate called down as the medics took Choji away, the winners were Sasuke (who wasn't here), Shino, Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kurotsuchi, Karui, Hinata, Yugito, Omoi, Gaara, and Dosu.

"To those of you who made it through the Preliminaries I say congratulations," Hiruzen smiled, "You will all have a month to prepare for the Finals."

"Why so long?" Shikamaru questioned.

"So that important people may come here to watch your matches, very important guests from different villages as well as village leaders will also come see you fight, Anko here has a box with numbers inside of it. When you have your number please call it out."

Anko walked to each one of them and they all picked out a number.

"One." Naruto called out.

"Two." Kurotsuchi called out.

"Three." Hinata called out.

"Four." Karui called out.

"Five." Omoi called out.

"Six." Yugito called out.

"Seven." Temari called out.

"Eight." Shikamaru called out.

"Nine." Shino called out.

"Ten." Kankuro called out.

"Eleven." Gaara called out.

"Twelve." Kakashi called out for Sasuke.

"Thirteen." Dosu called out.

"Alright kiddies look up at the screen for the results." Anko motioned them to look over and they did.

 **Match 1: Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kurotsuchi**

 **Match 2: Hinata Hyūga vs. Karui**

 **Match 3: Omoi vs. Yugito**

 **Match 4: Temari vs. Shikamaru**

 **Match 5: Shino vs. Kankuro**

 **Match 6: Gaara vs. Sasuke**

 **Match 7: Dosu vs. Whoever wins Match 6**

Yamato told Naruto who he was going up against making him sigh, _'I'm going up against another ninja from Iwa again? Was this set up by someone?'_

Kurotsuchi smirked, _'I'll kill you in front of your whole village! Spawn of the Yellow Flash!'_

 _'_ _So I'm going up against someone from Kumo then.'_ Hinata made a vow not to lose.

 _'_ _Oh shit!'_ Omoi thought as he got paired up with Yugito of all people.

Shikamaru sighed, _'Troublesome, I'm going up against another girl?'_

 _'_ _What's this bum's problem?'_ Temari thought.

 _'_ _Interesting.'_ Shino thought.

Gaara had a murderous look in his eye, _'Uchiha…'_

Dosu eyed Gaara, _'So I'm going up against the winner then.'_

"I wish you all luck for the month." Hiruzen smiled as they all began to leave but he was worried about Naruto's match against Kurotsuchi and hoping the blonde would be okay.

 _'_ _This finals should be interesting.'_ Hiruzen thought.

* * *

 **Next Time: Toad Sage and Training.**


	9. Toad Sage and Training

Naruto decides to head to wave to train in using Kurama's chakra as well as prepare for the finals. Yamato hears what Naruto intends to do and decides to join him in his quest as well as train him. Jiraiya soon appears peeping in a bathhouse to which Naruto threatens to castrate if he doesn't knock it off. When Naruto realizes he's one of the Legendary Sannin he was not impressed.

* * *

Naruto was in his apartment watering his flowers once again along with his clones. He was thinking about Asura's words back in Nami no Kuni, how he would have to use Kurama's chakra in the near future and he was seriously considering it.

 _'_ _I wonder if Kurama's okay with it?'_ Naruto thought.

 ** _"_** ** _Obviously." Kurama snorted._**

 _'_ _Hehe, my bad. I forgot you and me can hear each other thoughts. So, are you really okay with it?'_ Naruto asked again just to be sure.

 ** _"_** ** _Yes already! If your worried you'll abuse my power then don't because your not the type to abuse anything. Your too kindhearted." Kurama snorted._**

Naruto wondered about the 'kindhearted' remark but who knows? Maybe he is. Guess it was decided then. He'll train using both Kurama's chakra and train for the finals. He'll have to tell Hiruzen though, otherwise the old man would send a search party out for him or the council would use that opportunity to label him a Missing-nin and have him killed. He wouldn't put it past them. Putting down the watering can down he felt around for his sword and remembered that the first time he got it there was a black sash tied around it. For some reason it didn't feel right on a sword so he took it off, speaking of which, "Hey, guys can one of you got and get the black sash that came with this sword for me please?"

"Got it boss!" one of the shadow clones said walking off to go and find it.

Naruto only had to wait for 2 minutes before the shadow clone came back with the black sash in its hand and handed it over to Naruto who took it without question. The blonde had a crazy idea, and that was to wear the black blindfold around his eyes. He didn't know why, but he had been thinking about it ever since he woke up this morning. Shrugging his shoulders he closed his eyes and wrapped the black sash around his eyes tightening it good enough so that it doesn't fall off. Too bad he couldn't see his own reflection to see how he looks.

"Boss you look awesome!" one of the clones complimented.

Naruto blinked at his clone's compliment, "Thanks…" he dispelled the clones and received their memories, seeing that it did look surprisingly good on him. Interesting. Anyway, since he was up early he night as well head over now to tell the old man what he was up otherwise he'll end up forgetting. Walking straight to the tower not sensing any of the villagers were awake yet so he didn't have to put up with any of their hateful glares not that he really cared anyway. The people of this village are truly sad…somewhere in his heart he believed that the Yondaime, his father died for nothing.

Arriving at the tower he knocked on the old man's door hearing the man say 'Enter' he did just that.

"Ah, Naruto-kun what can I help you with?" Hiruzen questioned.

"I'm leaving." Naruto stated bluntly.

"W-W-What?!" Hiruzen nearly fell out of his chair.

"For a whole month I'm leaving and heading over to Nami no Kuni to train." Naruto told him.

Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief, "That's what you meant…"

"What did you think I meant?" Naruto asked curiously.

Hiruzen coughed into his hand, "No nothing, anyway is that black sash around your eyes for decoration?"

Naruto shrugged, "No reason, I just felt like wrapping it around my eyes."

"I must say it looks good on you, you look like your ready to punish someone." Hiruzen complimented.

Naruto's lips twitched, "Thanks for the compliment. So will you give me permission?"

"Hmmm, Naruto I want you to be honest with me about something." Hiruzen asked.

"What is it?" Naruto wondered.

"If I told you that you had a godfather that was in charge of looking after you after both of your parents died, what would you do?" He asked him carefully.

"Beat him within an inch of his life." Naruto stated.

Hiruzen couldn't help but feel fear for Jiraiya now.

"If he has a good reason for not doing what he was supposed to then I'll let him off the hook…if I feel like it." Naruto explained.

"I-I see…and yes I give you permission to go to Nami no Kuni, but at least take someone with you." Hiruzen told him.

"That's what I was planning on doing," Naruto headed for the door, "I'm taking Yamato-sensei with me."

"Actually, there is another person I want you to take with you. He should be at the hot springs as we speak." Hiruzen informed him.

Naruto wondered why a person would be a the hot springs but made no comment as he simply left the office. Hiruzen sighed, "Jiraiya your about to meet your godson for the very first time in years."

* * *

Naruto asked Yamato to meet him at the front gate while he went to the hot springs to find the other person gramps wanted him to bring along, so here he was now on his way to the hot springs.

 _'_ _Seriously though, why the hot springs?'_ Naruto thought. Walking more he sensed the same chakra signature as Orochimaru's only this one felt less malicious.

"Could it be another Sannin?" Naruto created a shadow clone and they both walked towards the signature. He was pretty sure he felt Ebisu's chakra signature too making him sweat-drop, "So he's a closet pervert, huh? Figures."

"Oh yeah, that's it!"

Naruto turned towards the voice sharply, _'What the hell?'_ he thought.

"Boss, there's a man with white hair that's in a ponytail peeping at women through some kind of scope." The clone reported.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Is that so?" he walked over towards the man sensing his chakra signature then stopped, "Hey!"

The shooed him away, "Go away you! I'm in the middle of some important research."

Naruto unsheathed his sword, "Put the scope down and walk away before I attempt castration."

The man simply ignored him and kept on peeping, but soon jumped away quickly. Looking back at the boy he saw that he had a sword unsheathed then looked over at him.

"I warned you," Naruto stated, "Who are you?"

"Me? You ask who I am? I am the man that women can't help themselves but throw at! I am Jiraiya! The Gallant Toad Sage!" Jiraiya did a pose.

Silence.

Naruto simply walked away having sheathed his sword, "If you're the person the old man said has to join us on to Nami no Kuni then can you hurry up? I don't wanna waste any time."

"Now see here! I am in the middle of important research and have no time to babysit a brat!" Jiraiya declared.

"Is that so? Then stay here then." Naruto said still walking away not even looking back or trying to convince him to come along.

Jiraiya sputtered, "Hold on, kid!" he ran after the blonde haired boy who was ignoring his calls until the man managed to catch up with him, "Geez kid, what's the rush?"

"I said I don't wanna waste any time." Naruto repeated.

Jiraiya stared at his godson. From the reports he'd been hearing about from Hiruzen, Naruto was leaving to master the Kyūbi's chakra.

"So, I hear your trying to use the Kyūbi's chakra." Jiraiya started conversation.

"I am, he doesn't seem to mind either. I've asked him constantly if it was okay and he said yes." Naruto said.

"Asked him? You mean you've been talking to the Kyūbi?!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"That's what I just said." Naruto deadpanned.

"Naruto you can't just talk to the Kyūbi! It could be trying to trick you into releasing the seal!" Jiraiya warned.

 ** _"_** ** _What was that asshole?!" Kurama yelled._**

 _"_ _Kurama, language!" Asura scolded._

Naruto sweat-dropped, _'Have your arguments some other time please.'_ He thought, "If the Kyūbi wanted to manipulate me into releasing the seal then he would have done so when we first met, which was when I was a child. I have full trust in the Kyūbi and the same could be said so in reverse."

 ** _Kurama smirked, "Ha! Take that pervert!"_**

"Why so concerned about my well being anyway?" Naruto questioned.

Jiraiya flinched, "Well…it concerns the Kyūbi of course I'd be concerned about you."

Naruto stopped walking and turned his head over to the white haired man, "Your lying."

Jiraiya felt like he was being looked at right through his soul when he said that. What was it about his eyes that scared him so much?

"I feel genuine concern from you that's true…but your lying about something that's making you feel guilty." Naruto stated.

Jiraiya flinched again, _'Is this kid some kind of sensor?'_

Naruto turned his head forward and started walking again, "It's fine, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Jiraiya snapped out of it and followed after the boy, "So kid, what's with the black thing around your eyes? You blind or something?"

"I am."

He stopped walking starring at the boy hoping he was joking when he said that but when he saw the boy was completely serious he felt like throwing up, "H-How…?"

"The matron at the orphanage dumped some liquid in my eyes when I was younger damaging my eyes permanently, she was executed after that. Hokage-sama ordered it." Naruto told him.

Jiraiya clenched both fists, "Kid, I'll meet you at the gate entrance in a little bit. I need to go and speak with someone." And like that he vanished.

Naruto was curious as to why he just took off like that but ultimately shrugged his shoulders and walked away to meet Yamato at the gate.

* * *

"Jiraiya, calm down!" Hiruzen tried to calm his student down.

"Old man, why didn't you tell me he's blind?!" Jiraiya yelled.

The old man sighed, "You said you wanted to see the boy for yourself and you have. Naruto has never cursed his blindness, not even once. He embraces it fully and refuses to have it be used as a crutch like he was told. Despite the cruel taunting and hatred of the villagers, the boy ignores it and simply goes through life like normal."

"…"

"In truth, its my fault for keeping you away from him for so long. Now that you're here, this is your chance to bond with him. Naruto might be a little hostile towards you at first when he finds out that you're his godfather but over time he might let you in. If only a little." Hiruzen told him honestly.

Jiraiya thought about it and knew his sensei was right, he was never there for the boy because of his spy network and knew that when he tells him about it that he will be hostile towards him and in truth he deserves it. But hopefully the boy will give him a second chance.

He sighed, "You've got a point as always…anyway, I'm heading out now sensei." And with that Jiraiya left through the window…again.

Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his temples, "Use the door next time."

* * *

Yamato and Naruto were at the main gate waiting on Jiraiya to show up, the wood user was surprised when Naruto came to him and told him that for the whole month he'll be focusing on controlling the Kyūbi's chakra as well as train harder than ever before. Yamato was worried about trying to control the Kyūbi's chakra but couldn't help but feel pride for the boy, having someone else beside him use Mokuton was a nice feeling for a change. But Yamato wasn't a true heir to the bloodline but Naruto was since he's technically both an Uzumaki and a Senju, so he had full faith that he'd be able to control the Kyūbi's chakra. When he heard the Jiraiya would be coming he was surprised as well as disappointed that he didn't look after Naruto like he was supposed to. He understood the man had a spy network to maintain but he still could've come to see him from time to time.

"He's here." Naruto said bringing the wood user out of his thoughts.

Yamato saw that Jiraiya was walking over to them with a grin on his face, "Yo! It's been awhile Tenzo!"

Yamato simply stared at the man. Legend or not he wouldn't show him any slack, "Jiraiya-sama." He said neutrally.

Jiraiya couldn't even blame the man for at all and he knew that Naruto probably picked up on it too.

"Yamato-sensei?" the blonde questioned.

"Nothing, let's go." Yamato said walking out of the village with Naruto and Jiraiya following.

This was gonna be a long trip.

Unknown to them they were being watched by ninja's from Kumo, Killer Bee was watching them leave knowing what they were planning to do.

"So what should we do, Bee-sensei?" Karui questioned.

"Follow Kyūbi, work with him and gain another brother, yeah!" Killer Bee rapped.

Yugito sighed, "Right…"

* * *

Yamato, Naruto, and Jiraiya were on their way to Nami no Kuni to go to the temple Naruto went to the first time he was there and found out about his clan and everything else. Jiraiya and Tenzo were having their own private conversation while the blonde walked forward not at al interested in their conversation.

 _'_ _It feels like almost yesterday that we met Zabuza and Haku on our first C-rank mission that soon became A-rank. Time goes by quickly.'_ Naruto thought.

 ** _"_** ** _Hmph, as much as I don't want to give that damn Uchiha any credit I myself have to admit that if he didn't demand to get a better mission then you wouldn't have found out about your origins or the fact that there are others suffering like you. And there's Asura too." Kurama grudgingly admitted._**

 _Asura sighed, "Will you please call me brother, Kurama? That is what we are after all."_

 ** _Kurama blushed, "Shut up!"_**

Naruto's lips twitched into a smile as they bickered. The two of them are brothers even though Kurama and the rest of the Bijū were created by Asura's father they were still technically siblings. He wondered though…those two he met in the forest Haruto and Kagura. He hoped those two won't become the troublesome sibling types.

After what felt like an eternity they arrived at Nami no Kuni, Yamato smiled when he saw what the people decided to name the bridge as did Jiraiya.

 **[The Great Naruto Bridge]**

Naruto couldn't see it of course and simply walked along, it was about 3 seconds that the blonde found himself be tackled by a familiar presence making him smile, "Hey, Inari."

"Naruto-nii-chan! You came back!" Inari smiled.

"That I did," Naruto smiled, "How have you guys been? No Gato copy cats I hope?" Naruto asked.

"Nope! Everything's okay thanks to you guys! Is it just you?" Inari smiled grabbing the boy's hand.

"No, I'm here with Yamato-sensei and another man too. His names Jiraiya." Naruto introduced.

"Hey, my names Inari!" Inari smiled.

Yamato smiled, "Nice to meet you, Inari."

"Hey kid." Jiraiya greeted.

Inari practically dragged Naruto towards his house in excitement, Jiraiya and Yamato noticed that the people here smiled as they saw the blonde haired boy. Yamato couldn't help but smile back, glad that these people see Naruto for himself. Jiraiya knew deep down that his student earned this and so much more, much more. Seriously when are the dumbass villagers gonna realize that they owe this boy?

 **Tazuna's House**

"Gramps! Mom! Look who's here!" Inari grinned.

Tazuna and Tsunami saw Naruto being dragged by Inari inside the house along with two other gentlemen.

"Naruto! How've you been, kid?" Tazuna grinned rubbing the boy's head making him pout.

"It's good to see you too, but do you have to rub my head?" Naruto said with a pout.

The old man grinned then looked at the two gentlemen behind the boy, "Oh? Who are you two?"

Yamato bowed respectfully, "Good evening, my name is Yamato, Naruto's mentor. This person next to me is Jiraiya."

"Yo!" Jiraiya greeted.

Tsunami smiled, "Its nice to meet you, my name is Tsunami and this is my father Tazuna. Can I just say that you trained Naruto well, he's well mannered and such a kind boy."

Yamato felt smug, "Thank you, Naruto has always been patient and causes no trouble at all."

Jiraiya felt a little jealous, but knew deep down he had no right to feel jealousy because he was never there for the boy.

Naruto blushed a little at the compliment and said nothing else, Inari noticed something, "Hey Naruto-nii-chan, how come your wearing that black sash around your eyes?"

Naruto thought about it then smiled, "Because it looks good on me, don't you think?"

Inari grinned, "It does!"

Tazuna knew there was something more to it, "Hey Naruto, why don't you go upstairs and get some rest. You look exhausted."

"I am a little bit, I'll take you up on that offer then." Naruto said having Inari help him up the stairs not in the mood to argue. Tazuna and the rest of the adults watched them descend up the stairs.

Tazuna sighed before looking at the two men, "Now that their upstairs, you mind telling me how the kid lost his sight?"

Yamato sighed knowing that the man asked Kakashi the same question but didn't answer, so he would have to do it this time, "You two might wanna sit down for this."

* * *

It was the next day in Nami no Kuni and Naruto was eager to get to the temple early and get started on what he came here to do. When the blonde got downstairs with the help of his clone this time he felt angry emotions coming off from two people. It wasn't Yamato or Jiraiya, but Tazuna and Tsunami.

 _'_ _What happened?'_ he wondered, "Good morning." Naruto greeted.

Tsunami saw the blonde walk down the stairs, she shot towards the boy engulfing him in a hug taking him by surprise, "Tsunami-san?"

The woman simply tightened her hold on him a little bit then let him go, "Feel free to stay here the whole month if you'd like, okay? We don't mind at all."

Naruto was so confused but didn't comment on it as the woman grabbed his hand and led him to the table sniffing around he smelled that there was already food waiting for him on the table. Did she get up early to make this for him? Yamato and Jiraiya weren't in the house and neither was Tazuna, so they were probably outside the house. He decided not to dwell on it and simply eat the food Tsunami made for him.

When the blonde was done he, Tazuna, Yamato, and Jiraiya headed towards the temple so they could do what they came here to do. The blonde was nervous but knew he needed to do this so he steeled himself to be prepared. They all stopped and Yamato and Jiraiya saw the temple and couldn't help but stare.

"So this is the temple?" Yamato stared.

Tazuna nodded, "Yeah, the Uzumaki clan built this temple a long time ago and its stayed here ever since. The kid came here before when I brought him, since he was able to enter it proved that he's an Uzumaki."

Naruto turned to the man, "Can I bring Yamato and Jiraiya with me?"

"I think so." Tazuna said.

Naruto grabbed Yamato's hand making the man jump and walked through the pillars like last time, both men disappeared this time. The blonde came back out, "If I hold their hands then they can come through." He walked over to Jiraiya grabbing his hand walking through the pillars disappearing.

Tazuna sighed, "I don't know what your planning kid, but something tells me its personal so do your best."

"Yeah!"

Tazuna jumped and turned to who said that, "What the? Who are you?"

* * *

 _"_ _Okay Naruto, there's a meditation temple not too far from here. I'll guide you." Asura told him._

 _'_ _Got it.'_

"So where do we go?" Yamato wondered.

Naruto started walking getting the instructions from Asura, "This way." The two men looked at each other before following after the blonde wondering how the hell did he know where to go. The blonde had no idea where he was going at all, he was just following Asura's directions like he did the last time he was here.

 _"_ _Stop. There's a door in front of you, simply touch it with the hand that has the sun symbol on it and you may enter along with your two teachers." Asura told him._

Naruto lifted his marked palm placing it on the door, as soon as he did it lit up making Yamato and Jiraiya go on the defensive but not for long because the door opened on its own and the blonde walked in along with Yamato and Jiraiya. The room was white and candles lit up as soon as Naruto entered, the blonde sat in the middle lotus style, "The Kyūbi says I have to sit like this and meditate, making it easier to enter my mindscape if I do this."

Jiraiya raised a brow, "Why is the Kyūbi helping you?"

Naruto smiled, "It's because we're friends. Yamato-sensei."

Yamato nodded, "Right." He produced the "sit" kanji on his palm, "Wood Release: Foo Dog Heads!" a series of wood pillars which are engraved to look like foo dog faces and have lit wicks on top of them surrounded Naruto, "All set."

Jiraiya was impressed with Yamato's skill, "Impressive."

"Thank you." The man smiled.

Naruto's ears twitched, "You can come out now."

The men were confused when someone jumped down before them scaring the living hell out of them.

"Yeah! Nice to meet ya, I'm Killer Bee! The Hachibi Jinchuriki!" Killer Bee introduced.

"You! You're the sensei from Kumo who was in the Chunin Exams! Why are you here?!" Yamato got ready to fight.

"Wait, Yamato-sensei! This is the Hachibi's Jinchuriki, he's fine." Naruto told the wood user.

Killer Bee grinned, "Yo brother Jinchuriki! Hachibi wanted to see ya, fool, ya fool!"

Yamato sweat-dropped, "What is with the rapping…?"

"So you're the Hachibi's Jinchūriki then, huh? But why are you here?" Jiraiya questioned.

Killer Bee shook his head, "Listen fool, ya fool! Gyūki wanted to speak to Naruto! Yeah!"

"Gyūki?" Jiraiya and Yamato had question marks above their head.

"He means the Hachibi," Naruto smiled, "Is it really okay though, Killer Bee?"

"Yeah!" Killer Bee grinned.

Naruto nodded, "Okay."

Gyūki then took over, **"Naruto, it's me Gyūki. Thanks for putting up with Kurama, I know it hasn't been easy."**

 ** _"_** ** _Screw you, Gyūki!" Kurama yelled._**

Naruto chuckled, "Kurama's not so bad actually, so what was it you wanted to talk about?"

 **"** **Right, if your serious about using Kurama's chakra then you have my full support as well as Matatabi who will be talking to you in the near future. Anyway, in order to have full use of a Bijū's chakra you'll need to first conquer your inner darkness before you can face off against the Bijū. Since you and Kurama already trust each other completely there's no need for you to do that, and instead you just have to face your inner demons."** Gyūki told him.

Naruto found the irony in that statement, "I got it, thank you Gyūki-san.

 **"** **Gyūki's fine and I wish you luck."** Killer Bee was back in control.

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his surroundings soon disappeared indicating that he was in his mindscape now.

 **Mindscape**

Naruto definitely knew he was in his own mindscape because he felt like he was inside his own head, standing up slowly he didn't feel any different.

"So is it just me here?" he wondered.

 **"** **So you forgot about me then, huh? I'm hurt."**

Spinning around her felt there was another presence here, much like his own but it felt much more darker.

"Are you…me?" he asked just to be sure.

The other him smirked, **"Heh, yeah I'm you and your me."**

"I'm not doubting that, but I am surprised." The blonde admitted.

 **"** **I don't know why, I've been with you since the very beginning. I'm your darkness and hatred. Don't deny it, you despise the villagers for everything they've done to you. Taking away your sight, ignoring your existence, and out right insulting and mocking you to your face. Do you really think your can just forgive them if they got on their hand and knees and apologize?"** the dark part smirked.

Naruto thought about that very carefully, "To be honest…I had never thought about it until now. There's a part of me, which I'm assuming is you that doesn't want to forgive them at all and ignore their existence for the rest of my life like they did to me. But…there's another part of me that wants to forgive. Forgive them for everything, but at a price."

The dark half raised a brow, **"Oh? And what price is that?"**

"They've lost my trust completely, and if they want it back they have to earn it. Don't you think so, too?" Naruto asked.

 **"** **Why forgive them at all?! Even if you do forgive me where does that leave me?! Back into your subconscious forgotten like always?!"** the other half yelled.

Naruto felt his other half's emotions, loneliness and fear. Ah, so they are the same. The blonde walked over to his dark self and grabbed his arm then grabbing his hand dragging him away.

 **"** **O-Oi! What are you doing?!"**

"Moron. You just said that if you go back into my subconscious you'll disappear and be forgotten, right?" the blonde stated.

 **"** **What the hell does tha-Ow! Did you just smack me on the forehead?!"**

"Yes I did. Problem?"

 **"** **Wha?"**

"Anyway, now that I have your attention again you're not going back into my subconscious to be forgotten because you're staying with me. I don't know all that much about Yin and Yang but I know that darkness and light can't exist without each other and the same applies to us too, right?" Naruto said with a small smile.

 **"…"**

"Well?"

 **"…** **And here I thought I was gonna have to force you into letting us merge."**

"Guess I saved you some trouble then, huh?" Naruto smirked, "Too bad I can't see, I wouldn't mind seeing what you look like."

 **"** **I look like you, idiot."**

"Yeah your definitely me alright, no doubt about that." He deadpanned.

 **"** **Heh, I'll be watching you."**

"Yeah, yeah."

He felt a warm feeling wash over him and knew that his other half merged with him because he could no longer feel his hand in his hand anymore. The blonde smiled, "Feels nice, like I'm whole again." He felt his surroundings change again and felt Kurama, "Yo! There you are."

Kurama smirked, **"Have a nice conversation with your other self?"**

"He's more darker than me, but then again he's me and I'm him so there's not much difference." Naruto smiled.

 **"** **Hahaha, you weird ass brat!"** Kurama cackled.

"…Shut up. Anyway, follow me out of the shrine and we can do this thing." The blonde smiled.

Kurama smirked and followed the blonde outside the shrine the blonde made for him, before the fox could step out completely he was wrapped in familiar chains.

"Kurama!" Naruto yelled.

 **"** **These chains…they could only come from her." Kurama said looking around.**

Naruto felt two presences, "Who are you?! Release Kurama!"

He heard a male's chuckle, "Calm down, Naruto. We're only here to make sure that he doesn't harm you."

"Kurama wasn't harming me, and I asked who you two are!" Naruto said with hostility.

"Don't mouth off to your father young man!" a woman's voice scolded.

"Excuse me?" Naruto growled.

Kurama rolled his eyes, **"He can't see you two, just tell him who you are already before you make him even madder."**

"Kurama, do you know them?" Naruto questioned.

 **"** **Yeah…the two presences you're sensing right now are your parents. Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze."** Kurama told the boy.

Naruto stilled when heard that, "Release Kurama." He said coldly.

"What?!" Kushina gasped.

"LET KURAMA GO!" Naruto hollered.

Kushina and Minato couldn't believe their son was yelling at them, Minato placed a hand on her shoulder and she let Kurama go. The giant fox went over by Naruto making them tense but relaxed when they saw the fox simply lay down behind the blonde.

 ** _'_** ** _I didn't think he'd yell at them. This should be interesting.'_**

Naruto sensed where Minato was and walked over to him first, as soon as he reached him he punched the man right in the gut making him double over in pain.

"Naruto!" Kushina gasped.

 **"** **Stay out of this, Kushina!"** Kurama yelled taking her by surprise, **"This is something that needs to happen."**

Naruto grabbed Minato by the collar and punched him in the face, "You wanna know what that's for?! That's for sealing a giant fox inside your son and leaving him alone to fend for himself to the wolves!"

Minato rubbed his cheek and stared at his son, "What do you mean?"

 **"** **What he means you fool, is that after you sealed me inside him the Sandaime announced his status as a Jinchūriki after I was sealed just like you asked him to. After that he was placed in an orphanage the matron doused chemical's in his eyes making him permanently blind, oh and I'm not done there. Your precious Konoha has been treating him like a demon ever since, saying bad things everytime he walks down the street and even tried to kill him a few times. Great parenting choices so far Yondaime, Kushina."** Kurama explained coldly.

"What?" Kushina gasped holding both hands to her mouth.

Minato looked disgusted, "They blinded you?"

"Weren't you listening? Kurama just told you, here's what I want to know though did my great-grandmother Mito or mom face what I have to every single day or did you want my status revealed because you wanted me to suffer?" Naruto questioned.

"Of course not!" Minato protested.

"THEN WHY?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE GLARED AT EVERYDAY, TO BE CALLED "DEMON BRAT," EVERY DAMN TIME?! NO, YOU DON'T! MITO-BAA-CHAN DIDN'T HAVE HER STATUS REVEALED AND LIVED A NORMAL LIFE AND NEITHER DID MOM, BUT YOU DECIDED TO DO IT TO ME! YOU ASSHOLE!" Naruto let out the emotions he had been feeling for a very long time now, his father was right in front of him and he was letting his ass have it.

Kushina was on her knees crying now, while Kurama just laid there and watched. He knew Naruto better than anyone and knew the kid had been holding these emotions in for a very long time now and needed to get them out.

Minato looked down as his son blew up him telling him about all the hardships he had endure.

"Why don't you say something?" Naruto questioned.

"Naruto…I'm sorry."

Naruto grabbed him by his collar again and was about to hit him again but Kurama wrapped his tails around the boy, **"Naruto, that's enough! You've said what you had to say, so enough."**

The blonde knew Kurama was right and dropped his father letting the man fall to the ground. He walked over to the fox ignoring his mother's crying form, stopping before the fox he looked up at him, "Kurama…"

 **"** **I already know,"** Kurama allowed the boy to climb on his head and lay there. The fox looked at Minato and Kushina and sighed, **"Wipe those pathetic looks off your faces. The decisions you made caused Naruto to suffer yes, but he is not completely alone. He has those that care for him, oh and that sorry excuse for a godfather you put in charge to look after him just now decided to appear."** He felt Naruto still on his head making him smirk, **_'Payback's a bitch, you damn pervert.'_**

The blonde sighed but still stayed on Kurama's head, "Explain yourselves…I deserve to know everything."

Minato who was comforting Kushina looked at his son in surprise, "You'll give us a chance to explain ourselves?" Kushina looked up at her son.

Naruto sat up lotus style, "I'm tired of the lies, I deserve to know everything."

Minato took a deep breath and sat down next to his wife, "Naruto, how much do you know about the Uzumaki clan?"

"Enough."

"I see, anyway after Uzushiogakure fell the survivors scattered including your mother. She was brought to Konoha to become the next Jinchuriki after Mito-sama died." Minato explained.

Naruto said nothing.

"After the Kyūbi was sealed inside me I went to the Academy and was very shy and blurted out that I was going to become a female Hokage. That's where I met your father." Kushina explained next.

Naruto nodded, "Kurama told me that he hates Madara Uchiha with a passion, is he somehow responsible for what happened to Konoha right after I was born?"

"Yes he is, he wore an orange mask though which was strange. But, he was there and he interfered with the sealing process and controlled the Kyūbi using the Sharingan making it go berserk." Minato explained.

"Kurama is a "he" not an "it" so don't call him that." Naruto told them firmly.

Kurama smirked at them.

"I-I see, I'm sorry." Minato apologized.

"It's fine, so he controlled Kurama using the Sharingan, huh? Did he manipulate Kurama into killing you two?" Naruto questioned.

 **"** **No, that was my fault actually. I was tired of being sealed and having my powers abused, once I was free of that bastard Uchiha's control I was consumed by my hatred and tried to kill you but Kushina and the Yondaime here protected you taking my claw themselves instead of you."** Kurama confessed.

Naruto felt Kurama's emotions and started rubbing his head, "So even you can feel hate too, huh? Its alright, Kurama."

 **"** **Hm."**

"Anyway, how exactly did you die? I know that Kurama didn't kill you by a simple stab to the claw." Naruto said having stopped rubbing the fox.

Minato shook his head, "I used the, Shiki Fūjin (Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal) that was created by the Uzumaki clan it allowed me to seal the Kyūbi's yin chakra within you while I had the yang version within me. I died soon after."

"I understand." Naruto said.

"Naruto…" Kushina said.

The blonde sighed and hopped off the fox's head then walked over to his mother first giving her a hug taking her by surprise, "I didn't mean to yell earlier, and I'm glad I get to hug you like this even though I can't see you. It's still good to hold you close like this…mom."

Kushina hugged her son closely to her with fresh tears streaming down her face. Her son had forgiven her.

Naruto sensed the look Minato was giving him and sighed, "Get over here, you're forgiven too."

Minato wasted no time in hugging his son, he hated himself for putting his son through so much pain but he was able to overcome it and even forgive him, his father.

Naruto smiled, he didn't completely hate them but he had every right to tell them off, well more so his father than mother but he loved them both.

"Naruto, the chakra we poured inside you is fading, we have to go now." Kushina smiled sadly.

"Mm, I know. I can feel it."

"I know I have no right to say this, but I'm proud of you." Minato smiled.

"Thanks." The blonde smiled, "Thank you both…for bringing me into this world."

Both parents hugged their son one last time before they disappeared completely leaving only Naruto and Kurama. The blonde started crying a little bit but they were happy tears, "How I wish I was able to see their faces but being able to hug them was enough for me…"

Kurama said nothing and simply stared, **"Naruto."**

Naruto turned to him and smiled, "Kurama…do you trust me?"

 **"** **You're the second human aside from my father whom I trust…do you trust me?"** Kurama asked.

"Definitely!" the blonde grinned, something he hadn't done since he was a child.

Kurama grinned and stuck his fist out, **"Bump fists with me, Naruto."**

Naruto smiled and bumped his fist with Kurama like he asked him to and felt power surge through him, there was a white light engulfing everything.

 **"** **Naruto…my power is yours to use."**

"…Thank you, Kurama."

* * *

Yamato and Jiraiya stared in awe at Naruto while Killer Bee smiled proud of his Jinchuriki brother for overcoming his darkness and bonding with the Kyūbi.

Naruto stood up slowly his form completely changed. His pupils becomes slitted, the whisker-like markings on his face become thicker to resemble the three trigram, and the chakra shroud's shape alters to resemble a full-length haori, "Kurama Mōdo (Kurama Mode)."

Yamato's eyes widened, "He did it…he really did it!"

Jiraiya grinned, "Well I'll be damned."

"Yeah!" Killer Bee smirked.

The wooden pillars around Naruto started growing into trees symbolizing harmony and how Naruto's new form was allowing them to grow.

"Amazing…" Yamato stared at the once wooden pillars that were now trees.

 _'_ _So Kurama…how do I look?'_ Naruto asked.

 ** _"_** ** _Like someone I can be proud of." Kurama grinned._**

 _"_ _Kurama's right, you look amazing." Asura smiled._

 _'_ _Asura! Why were you so quiet earlier?'_

 _"_ _I wanted to see how you would overcome, and you have done well."_

 _'_ _Thanks.'_

Naruto looked over at Jiraiya, "Your supposed to be my godfather, huh?"

Jiraiya flinched, "How did you…?"

"I'll want an explanation from you later, right now I want you and Yamato-sensei to train me. And Killer Bee too if he's not too busy." Naruto wondered.

"Yo, helping out Jinchuriki brother alright with me, fool, ya fool!" Bee rapped.

"Enough of that already!" Yamato yelled.

Naruto smiled at their antics.

This should be an interesting month.

* * *

Naruto had sweat pouring down his face as he got up slowly, "One more time."

"Take it easy, Naruto." Jiraiya told him.

Naruto had been training his ass off every single day to the point of exhaustion. He trained with Kurama's form first with the help of Killer Bee, it wasn't easy at first, no but he keep trying and eventually he managed to get the results he wanted. He then had to learn to control Bijū Mōdo (Tailed Beast Mode), which wasn't easy being big and all and the people of Nami no Kuni didn't seem to mind him in the form believing him to be channeling a guardian deity instead of a demon much to Kurama's amusement.

Yamato took over next, teaching him more Mokuton techniques by having his clones study from a scroll that belonged to the Shodaime Hokage, and so far Naruto had gotten the hang of some of the jutsu's that were in the scroll making him smile from ear to ear.

Now it was Jiraiya's turn, the man had explained himself to Naruto like he promised and the blonde forgave him, the blonde also told them that he met his father and mother. Naruto couldn't see their expressions but knew they were probably hilarious when he mentioned that he punched Minato in the gut and in the face then yelled at him. He told them he had every right to do what he did and that he didn't regret it one bit, but after they talked he forgave both of his parents and hugged them one last time before they disappeared. Jiraiya had taught him the summoning jutsu and now here he was teaching him the Rasengan, Minato's own version of the Bijū's Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Bomb). The blonde had did all three steps and was able to do the Rasengan, right now he was practicing on how to make it as big as he wants with just one hand but that wasn't easy, but then again nothing ever is. He had been taking trees down he created via Mokuton as practice dummies while using the Rasengan but he was trying to make it bigger for another purpose.

Lifting up his hand, he held his palm out and the spiraling blue ball of energy emerged from within his hand. He tried to make it bigger but it only grew to a medium sized ball so he simply threw it at one of the trees he created putting a hole in it.

He sighed, "Oh well, not like how I wanted but at least its destructive enough." And with that he fell to the ground completely exhausted on his back, too bad he couldn't see the sky because he would have loved to watch the clear blue sky and the clouds float on by. He had taken his black sash off while training, when he gets down with training he wraps it back around his eyes.

"What are you thinking about, kid?" Jiraiya questioned.

"I'm not thinking about anything, but if I was thinking about something it would probably be how I don't find being blind to be a bad thing like most people would." Naruto said honestly.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah…the down sides are that I can't tell if its morning or night because all I see is pitch black, or the fact that I need the help of my Shadow Clones to help me cook around my apartment, or help water my plants, but other than that being blind isn't as bad as everyone thinks it is." Naruto said.

Jiraiya smiled, "I see, so what are the upsides?"

"My senses and hearing are enhanced, it also helps me predict my opponents movements if they're on the ground but in the sky or on water I'm on my own and have to use Shadow Clones." The blonde explained.

"Interesting, I didn't know that. So who's your opponent in the finals?" the man wondered.

"Kurotsuchi." Naruto said.

"The Tsuchikage's granddaughter?!" Jiraiya grimaced.

"The very same," Naruto confirmed, "I took down one of her teammates in the Preliminaries without so much as getting a scratch on me, but she wasn't happy that I beat him. Its pretty obvious their here to kill me because of my father." He chuckled bitterly, "It's amazing, a foreign ninja from Iwagakure knows I'm his son but the people of Konoha who he died to protect can't get passed their hatred of me to see it for themselves. Its pathetic."

Jiraiya was inclined to agree. He wondered if the old man would be willing to reveal the boy's heritage to the public before the matches even begin. Should be an interesting reaction too.

Naruto stood up slowly, "I'm hungry. I'm going to go eat." He sensed where Yamato and Killer Bee were so he could eat leaving Jiraiya to his thoughts.

"Naruto, I know it's too late too late to say this but…your parents would be very proud of you." Jiraiya said behind the boy's back believing he couldn't hear him.

"I know, they told me." Naruto smiled not seeing the white haired man's expression from behind him.

* * *

Naruto took a deep breath about to try out a new technique he learned, "Mokuton: Daisōju (Wood Style: Great Tree Spear)!" several thick roots sprouted from the ground. The blonde sighed in relief that the jutsu worked, so he decided to use his own new jutsu he had been working on. Making the necessary hand signs he tried it out, "Mokuton: Jumoku no Han'ei (Wood Style: Tree Flourish Burial)!" roots appeared form underground that were covered in pink flowers wrapped themselves around the stone pillars squeezing them until they eventually broke in half.

The blonde stood up straight and sighed, "I feel bad that the stone pillars got hit with the technique but oh well."

"That was impressive. You're really improving." Yamato smiled.

"Yamato-sensei! Were you watching me the whole time?" Naruto wondered.

"I was but I didn't interrupt you because I wanted to let you concentrate, and I've gotta say that your improving greatly. In my opinion your ready for your match in the finals." Yamato smiled with pride.

Naruto blushed a little, "Thanks…oh, by the way my Fūinjutsu has improved too. I was working on it a little more yesterday and I found something pretty interesting, well my clones did actually."

"What did you find?" the man raised a brow.

"Masks," Naruto said, "Apparently they belong to the Uzumaki clan and I found a whole temple full of them so I decided to take them along with us. I have a feeling that leaving them here were someone would be able to somehow get in here and find these masks to use them would be a bad idea."

 _'_ _Someone like Orochimaru.'_ Yamato thought. He told Jiraiya about how Orochimaru was going to brand both Sasuke and Naruto with the Curse Mark, but got Sasuke instead of Naruto because the snake was forced to retreat. The Toad Sage wasn't happy with the news and knew why Orochimaru was after Naruto, and it was because of his Mokuton Kekkei Genkai as well as his Uzumaki genes. While it's true he hadn't been in Naruto's life all that much when he was a child, things were different now. If the snake tried anything again then he'd act. No mercy.

"So you worked on nothing but Fūinjutsu yesterday?" Yamato questioned.

"Yep. It must be in my Uzumaki genes because it comes to me quickly and doesn't seem all that hard." Naruto said.

Yamato's lip twitched in amusement, "That I'm sure of."

* * *

Naruto was in Kurama Mōdo (Kurama Mode) again, but this time he was sitting down lotus style seeing how long he could maintain the form and so far 15 minutes have passed.

Killer Bee was watching him intently as he concentrated and nodded, "How's he doing?" Jiraiya walked up to him.

"Yo! Naruto doing good, fool, ya fool!" Bee rapped.

The man sweat-dropped, he honestly felt bad for the Hachibi because he has to deal with all this rapping from his Jinchūriki, "How long has it been?"

"15 minutes."

Jiraiya looked over at his godson with pride, "To be able to befriend the Kyūbi and be able to use its chakra is impressive. He's come a long way, and its a shame I wasn't here to see his growth."

"Yo, Naruto don't care about that no more bro! He forgives and forgets! And that's what's best, fool ya fool!" Killer Bee grinned.

Jiraiya stared at the man with his own grin, "Damn right."

Yamato appeared before them and looked over at Naruto, "Naruto's something special isn't he?"

"Gyūki said the same thing." Bee smiled.

"Gyūki? The Hachibi?" Jiraiya raised a brow.

Bee nodded, "He says that Naruto is the human that will bring them all together."

"Bring them all together? You mean the Bijū?" Yamato was taken back. Naruto was going to bring them all together? How?

 _'_ _Bring the Bijū together? Is this part of the prophecy?'_ Jiraiya made a mental note to summon one of the toads and ask them later.

Naruto sighed and got out of his Kyūbi form, "That's it…time is 30 minutes. I need to improve on that."

Yamato and Jiraiya looked at each other, _'Has it really been 30 minutes?'_

"Yo, Naruto! Come here bro!" Bee called the blonde over.

Naruto blinked and walked over to the man, "What is it, Bee-sensei."

Bee grinned and made the fist bump gesture, "Fist bump with me bro!"

Naruto's lip twitched in amusement as he remembered doing the same with Kurama, fist bumping with Killer Bee he felt like there was chakra being poured into him that felt foreign but he accepted it anyway.

 _'_ _This is…'_

 ** _"_** ** _Gyūki's transferring some of his chakra into you," Kurama grinned, "Looks like I was right."_**

Naruto wondered what he was talking about but didn't comment on it and simply accepted the chakra transfer until it was over. Feeling that it was indeed over he lowered his arm, "That was…"

"Gyūki transferred half his chakra over to you, but still has some left in me, fool, ya fool!" Bee told him.

 ** _"_** ** _That's right."_**

Naruto visibly jumped, "What in the?"

 ** _"_** ** _Gyūki, what the hell are you doing in here?!" Kurama yelled._**

 ** _"_** ** _Calm down, Kurama. Since some of my chakra is here then that also means half of my subconscious is in here too." Gyūki said appearing next to Kurama in Naruto's mindscape._**

 ** _"_** ** _Tch, whatever." Kurama huffed._**

Naruto sweat-dropped, _'Try to get along you two.'_

"You heard Gyūki inside your head." Bee smiled.

The blonde nodded, "He said that since he transferred some of his chakra inside me that also means he placed half of his subconscious inside me too. So I can hear both him and Kurama inside my head.

 ** _"_** ** _Matatabi wants to see you too." Gyūki told him._**

 _'_ _The Nibi?'_

 ** _"_** ** _Yeah."_**

 _'_ _Then I'll be on my best behavior when I meet her then.'_ Naruto thought.

 ** _Kurama and Gyūki visibly shivered at the declaration, 'After seeing what her Jinchuriki can do I'd be on my best behavior too. She hasn't changed one bit.' Kurama thought. Unknown to him Gyūki was thinking the exact same thing._**

Naruto bowed politely, "Thank you, Bee-sensei."

"No problem, fool, ya fool!" Bee grinned.

* * *

"Your going?" Inari looked sad that Naruto was leaving again.

"Yeah, I gotta go back. The month's over now and I have to get back, but you guys can come and watch the Finals in Konoha if you want?" Naruto smiled.

Inari's face immediately brightened, "Can we, mom?! Gramps?!"

"Of course we're going!" Tsunami smiled, "Well be definitely be there!"

Tazuna grinned, "Are we allowed to make bets?"

"Yes." Yamato said with a sigh, "I don't approve of it but you are allowed to make bets on the Genin you want to win."

"Then I'm betting on Naruto-nii-chan!" Inari grinned.

"Me too!" Tsunami smiled.

"Hell yeah, I'm in!" Tazuna smirked.

"I'm betting on my godson as well!" Jiraiya grinned.

Naruto sighed at his godfather/sensei but said nothing, _'You're the last person who should be making any bets.'_

"Yo! I'll be seeing ya!" Bee rapped.

Naruto smiled, "Thank you for training me for the entire month, Bee-sensei."

"Hey yo, don't worry about it Jinchuriki bro, fool, ya fool!" Bee grinned.

"Fool, ya fool!" Inari copied.

Tsunami glared at Killer Bee, now her son will be repeating that phrase and driving her crazy.

But Naruto had to admit, the month he spent here with them was fun and peaceful almost like a second family to him. He will definitely be coming back here to visit them again.

 **Konohagakure**

Kotetsu and Izumo were yawning as usual. They were the gatekeepers of Konoha and all they did was watch the gate and yawn, sometimes they would either play cards or take naps because they were bored to death.

They probably forgot that they are gatekeepers whose job is to watch the gate.

"Izumo…I'm bored." Kotetsu whined.

"Get over it." Izumo told him.

"You two shouldn't be looking so bored." Jiraiya appeared in their faces making them fall back in their chairs.

"J-Jiraiya-sama!" they both squeaked.

Yamato sighed, "Honestly, I'm starting to think you two are a disgrace as gatekeepers."

"You don't have to say all that, Yamato." Izumo groaned.

Naruto walked ahead of them catching their attention and making them both freeze in place, "Y-Yondaime-sama?!"

"I'm not," Naruto sighed, "Just because my hair grew you automatically think I'm him? You two must be tired." He still had his black sash wrapped around his eyes liking how it felt.

"N-Naruto?!" they both exclaimed.

The blonde sighed, "I'm going inside now." He walked off inside the village followed closely by Jiraiya while Yamato stayed behind and showed their passes. He wont lie, he was looking forward to seeing how Naruto performs in the exams.

Naruto and Jiraiya were walking through the village heading straight for the tower, but Naruto had other plans, "I'm going home."

"What about seeing the old man?" Jiraiya looked at the boy.

"You can tell him everything that happened," Naruto said unconcerned, "Killer Bee-sensei should be with his team in the hotel since he left before us and I'm tired so I'm going home, check on my plants, and take a nice long nap. Good bye." Naruto shunshin'd away having learned it over the month along with other things. He wouldn't reveal his secrets now, oh no, he'll do that when its time for the final exam to begin.

Jiraiya sighed, "That brat makes me do all the work, but at least it shows he trusts me despite me not being there for him." And with that he walked off to see the old man.

* * *

Naruto opened the door to this apartment with a sigh, "God I'm tired…" he walked inside and created a shadow clone, "Go and check to see how my plants are."

The shadow clone nodded and checked the plants just like it was told, the clone smiled, "Boss, the plants seem to be just fine. There are no problems."

"Thank god…" Naruto sighed with relief.

 ** _Gyūki turned to Kurama, "He has plants?"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Yeah, he takes care of them every single day and makes sure they stay healthy. Since he can't buy any of them in the village he either creates them or goes into the forest and brings them here. Its his hobby." Kurama explained._**

 ** _"_** ** _You think he could get Bee to stop that god forsaking rap of his and give him a new hobby?" Gyūki asked hopefully._**

 ** _Kurama snickered._**

Naruto found amusement in Gyūki's plead about how getting Bee to stop rapping, he could try but doubt he could actually do it let alone succeed. Walking over to the bed groggily with the help of his clone he got under the covers, took off the black sash, handing it over to his clone and went to sleep. He'll be facing off against Kurotsuchi tomorrow and needed to get some sleep to be ready for tomorrow.

Should be interesting.

* * *

Hiruzen was in his office when he felt the window open, "Jiraiya…one of these days can you please use the door?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Jiraiya smirked.

The old man rolled his eyes, "Well? How did the training go?"

Jiraiya smirked, "The kid's gotten much stronger over the month, you'll be surprised when you see him participate in the Finals."

Hiruzen smiled, "I see."

"By the way, he knows I'm his godfather. The Kyūbi told him." Jiraiya told the man.

"How does the Kyūbi know that?" Hiruzen questioned.

"Kushina was the jailer before Naruto remember? Anyway, he also said that he met both his parents inside the seal." Jiraiya grimaced.

Hiruzen was surprised that Minato and Kushina had placed their chakra inside the seal but then again he shouldn't be surprised because this was Minato they were talking about, "How was it?"

"The kid went off on them, well more so Minato than Kushina. He told him all he had to endure and even punched Minato a few times to make sure he understood just how pissed off he was." Jiraiya explained.

Hiruzen grimaced, _'Well, I can't say Naruto shouldn't have done that but I can't because he's within his full right to do that.'_

"After all that, he gave them both a hug and forgave them then they disappeared." The white haired man finished.

Hiruzen smiled, "I see. Is there anything else?"

Jiraiya grinned much to the old man's confusion, "You'll see during the Finals. Trust me Sensei, you'll be proud of him."

Hiruzen was still curious but made no comment and instead decided to wait until the finals.

* * *

 **Next Time:** **Chūnin Exams: Finals**


	10. Chūnin Exams: Finals

The chapter is finally here! Next one will be uploaded tomorrow!

* * *

The finals for the Chūnin Exams begins and Naruto's the first to fight against Kurotsuchi the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, she reveals his full heritage to the entire village making them realize their mistake, but its too late. The blonde also reveals his hidden Kekkei Genkai to the entire village, what will their reaction be as well as the Council? Will they be able to seek forgiveness?

* * *

The stadium was packed with many visitors both local and foreign. There were Daimyo's from other countries that were there as well to watch the promising Genin fight each other as well as make bets. The foreign merchants that serve Naruto many things came to see him fight knowing he would do just fine and didn't have to worry about him at all, hell they even made bets on him having full confidence he'd win.

The Jounin who's students made it through the Preliminaries who are Kakashi, Asuma, Killer Bee, and Baki were sitting with each other eager to see their students fight. Actually Kakashi wasn't here seeing as how he was running late as usual and Killer Bee was sitting with the Konoha Jounin much to their confusion but didn't comment on it. Those who didn't make it to the Finals, Sakura, Ino, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Choji, and Kiba were watching from the stands seeing the competitors were there except Sasuke who was missing for some reason.

"The finals should be interesting," Asuma took a puff from his cigarette, "Training for a full month gave them enough time to prepare, so this should be interesting."

"How's Choji doing by the way?" Kurenai asked with worry.

Asuma smirked, "He was pretty depressed he didn't make it to the finals, but I told him that he had nothing to be ashamed of. He took down his first opponent in the Preliminaries rather quickly and should feel proud of his achievement. When I told him that he perked right back up."

"Choji did do really well in his match against that Ame ninja," Kurenai frowned down towards the arena staring right at the Iwa kunoichi, "Just be glad he didn't go up against the Tsuchikage's granddaughter."

"Yeah, no kidding." Asuma agreed.

Anko and Zabuza were grinning from ear to ear making the two Jounin look over at them, "What are the two of you grinning about over there?"

"How much money we're going to make, I betted on the blonde gaki to win his match and destroy that Iwa kunoichi. All the dango's I can eat." Anko grinned.

"Heh, gonna have to buy some new swords for the kid after he wins." Zabuza smirked.

Haku smiled, "I have also made a bet on Naruto. I have full confidence he will win."

"I have no doubts about that at all." Asuma agreed.

"Neither do I, please tell me you didn't bet on Shikamaru?" Kurenai looked at him with suspicion.

"Nah, betting's not really my thing." Asuma shrugged.

"Good."

Yamato then showed up and saw Killer Bee, "Bee, you're sitting over here?"

"Yeah!" Bee grinned.

Yamato sat next to him, "Let me guess you bet on Naruto, didn't you?"

"Yo, bet on Naruto bro and Yugito, fool, ya fool!" Bee grinned.

The wood user simply sighed and shook his head.

Asuma and Kurenai sweat-dropped at the rapping but didn't comment on it, "Y-Your not going to bet on Karui and Omoi?"

"Yo! Karui and Omoi good, but need more to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, fool, ya fool!" Bee rapped.

"I-I see." Kurenai smiled nervously.

 _'_ _What the hell did he just say?'_ Zabuza and Asuma thought.

Meanwhile the rest of the rookies were having their own conversation about the final matches.

"I'm getting excited." Tenten grinned with anticipation.

"These finals should be interesting," Neji said with a small smile, "I look forward to seeing Hinata-sama win her match."

"I look forward to seeing Naruto-kun show me just how youthful he really is!" Lee grinned still in his hospital clothes as well as leaning on his crutches.

Neji sighed, "Lee, you should be resting in the hospital."

"I am fine, Neji-kun!" Lee gave him his trademark pose.

Neji simply shook his head in defeat, while Tenten laughed nervously. Stubborn fool.

Kiba was glaring down at Kurotsuchi, "I hope Naruto takes her down. I still can't believe she killed that guy in the Preliminaries."

Akamaru barked in agreement.

"She's from Iwa," Neji told him, "All of them there are arrogant and have no qualms about killing, we too will eventually take a life in the near future and might as well prepare for it."

"Not to mention she's the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, and is probably the arrogant type." Tenten added.

Sakura was worried and it showed on her face, prompting Ino to call her out on it, "What's up, Sakura? What are you worried about?"

"Huh? Oh, well Sasuke-kun's not here yet." Sakura said.

Choji ate his chips, "He's fine, he'll get here when he get's here."

"Choji's right, Sasuke's not the type to not just show up for his own match even though its last." Ino grinned.

"Right…" Sakura smiled.

 **Hokage Booth**

Hiruzen was sitting next to the Raikage who had shown up with his two bodyguards Darui and C.

"It's good to see you, Raikage-sama." Hiruzen smiled.

"You as well, Hokage. I hear you have some promising Genin this year." A turned to the man.

Hiruzen smiled, "Yes, you have three promising ones yourself."

"Karui, Omoi, and Yugito are the most promising of their generation. By the way, who's Yugito going up against again?" A questioned.

"That would be Omoi." Hiruzen chuckled at A's deadpanned look.

A sighed, "As much as I find Omoi to be promising, compared to Yugito he'll only last about 5 minutes. 15 if she's merciful."

Hiruzen chuckled.

"By the way, where's the Kazekage? With all three of his children participating I thought he'd be the first one here." A wondered.

"I was wondering the same thing myself, he should be here soon." Hiruzen knew the real reason having heard the information from Jiraiya and Hayate. It was by a pure blessing that Jiraiya's toad got to Hayate in time and saved him from being killed. As if summoned the Kazekage soon appeared, "Ah, Kazekage your finally here."

"It would appear I'm the last one here, Hokage-dono, Raikage-dono." Kazekage/Orochimaru bowed politely to them.

A automatically knew something wasn't right with the Kazekage but made no comment on it but still kept his guard around the man as he sat down next to the Hokage.

Hiruzen stood up to address the crowed, "Those that came to witness the finals of the Chūnin Exams, I welcome you! We have a lot of talented Genin this year and hope they perform greatly for your enjoyment!" the crowd cheered.

* * *

Genma Shiranui eyed those that made it to the finals while chewing on a senbon needle, he had to admit that he was pretty impressed by those that made it to the finals. He eyed the Iwa kunoichi though with suspicion, she still had that smirk on her face that made him wonder about it and made a mental note to keep an eye on her.

"Alright, congratulations on making it to the finals but that doesn't mean you can get lazy so look sharp. There are a lot of people here, some of them nobles who came here to see you fight so don't make fools of yourselves in front of them." Genma told them.

"Whatever, just get on with it already." Kurotsuchi was getting impatient and wanted to get started already.

Genma frowned at her but continued anyway, "Before we begin I'll explain the rules for this part of the exams which are basically the same as the Preliminaries. Since I'm the proctor for this part that means my word is law, meaning that this is a one on one fight. You will fight until your opponent is either unconscious, forfeits, or is killed, while killing is usually frowned upon it's still allowed. If I say the match is over then its over, disobey me and I'll be forced to take drastic measures."

Shikamaru looked around, "We're missing someone."

"Dosu Kinuta has dropped out, meaning that there will only be six matches." Genma lied smoothly. They actually found Dosu's body on top of a roof nearby that was beyond recognition. He had a pretty good idea who was responsible for the Genin's death but made no comment on it.

Naruto didn't seem to care that Dosu wasn't here and figured that he was probably killed because that was the only explanation. Dosu wasn't the type to just forfeit, so he had to have been killed. It was either Gaara or Kurotsuchi, but he had a feeling the kunoichi wouldn't even waste her time on the Oto ninja so it had to be Gaara.

"Now then, lets begin. The first match will be between Naruto Uzumaki and Kurotsuchi, the rest of you go up to the competitors box and wait for your matches to start." Genma told the rest of the competitors.

Hinata gave Naruto a worried look but at the same time blushing because of the black sash around his eyes believing it suited him very well.

Shikamaru sighed but not before giving Naruto a glance wondering why the hell does he have a black sash wrapped around his eyes? People already know he's blind so what's the point? He then eyed his opponent, the Iwa kunoichi Kurotsuchi the Tsuchikage's granddaughter. He shuddered remembering how she easily killed that Ame Genin during the Preliminary event.

 _'_ _Troublesome blonde. You better not die.'_ Shikamaru thought as he stood on Shino's left side while Hinata stood on his left side.

Genma eyed them both wondering how the hell the village pariah was even going to fight and was honestly surprised he made it to the finals of the exams. The boy looked completely calm and collected unlike his opponent who was still smirking, seriously what the hell was Iwa doing here anyway?

"The first match of the finals between Naruto Uzumaki and Kurotsuchi…begin!" he got the hell out of there by standing off on one of the arena walls.

Naruto felt him leave with a sweat-dropped, _'He got out here quickly, now didn't he?'_

"Hmph, finally I can exact revenge." Kurotsuchi smirked.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion, "Your still upset I beat your teammate during the Preliminaries? You Iwa ninja sure can hold a grudge."

"Oh I'll get payback for N don't worry, I'm talking about how your father The Yellow Flash slaughtered half of our people during the war!" Kurotsuchi yelled.

Naruto stayed calm but inwardly he was cursing her for revealing his heritage out in the open, _'This idiot!'_

 ** _"_** ** _Real idiot." Kurama and Gyūki agreed._**

The entire stadium froze after the whole revelation and stared at Naruto with horror on their faces, there was no way he was the son of their Yondaime it had to be a joke, right?

Naruto tiled his head again, "Out of curiosity do you have any proof that I'm his son?"

"Oh please, you look just like him! Not to mention we took some of your hair and blood from the hospital while we were here and it was a 100% match! You're that bastard Yellow Flash's son, so don't even try to deny it!" she yelled.

"I'm not denying it because your not wrong, but you should look around you though." Naruto sighed at her stupidity.

She raised a brow but looked around and saw the looks of horror on the villagers faces, while the shinobi were cursing themselves for having failed to notice that Naruto had the same features as their Yondaime, same blonde hair and blue eyes! The rookies and some of the Jounin couldn't believe that Naruto was his son but the girl said so herself. DNA doesn't lie, that and the blonde is basically a carbon copy of the man except he's blind.

"What the hell? What's with the pathetic looks on their faces?" she wondered.

"That's because no one here knew I was his son until now thanks to you, they were too busy trying to either kill me or have me banished because of my burden," Naruto told her, "Even when I lost my sight they found pleasure in mocking me simply because I'm blind."

Kurotsuchi busted out laughing, "You mean to tell me that these people who preach about the "Will of Fire" didn't even realize you were his son?! That's so pathetic! Will of Fire my ass!"

"I'm inclined to agree with you on that one." Naruto agreed completely.

"Hey, your last names Uzumaki right?"

"It is."

"So you're related to the Uzumaki clan that was once alive back in Uzushiogakure?" She was getting a sick pleasure out of seeing the faces of the Konoha villagers and ninja's gathered around. They didn't know that he was _that man's_ son. Fucking hilarious.

"My mother Kushina Uzumaki was originally from there, she along with the rest of the survivors migrated to different places and she came here. She then met my father they fell in love and here I am, so yes I am an Uzumaki from the Uzumaki clan. I'm probably the last one." Naruto theorized not having really thought about it until now.

"Heh, gramps told me that those swirls on your ninja's jackets and forehead protectors symbolizes the friendship between Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure, is that true?" she was interested now.

"That's right, the Kage at the time from Uzushiogakure Ashina made this arrangement with the Shodaime of Konohagakure Hashirama after he married Mito Uzumaki and brought her here to Konoha." Naruto admitted no sense in hiding it now.

"Holy shit! You're a an Uzumaki and a Senju?!" Kurotsuchi's eyes were bulging out of her head.

"I'm only part Senju actually, but yes I am a Senju regardless." Naruto corrected.

"That means you're related to the Shodaime, Nidaime and Tsunade Senju!" Kurotsuchi exclaimed.

"…I suppose I am." Naruto said after just now realizing that the Shodaime had a brother, he also forgot about Tsunade. He should really stop forgetting about his relatives otherwise he'll make them mad.

The hits just keep on coming for the villagers of Konoha, so not only did they torment their beloved Yondaime's son but he's also the last of his clan that gave them their red swirling symbol, but he was also related to their Shodaime, Nidaime, and Slug Princess Tsunade Senju! If they didn't feel sick with themselves before they did now.

The rookies were sitting there gaping but also feeling sad that Naruto had go through such a hard life. And they were no better themselves.

"Naruto's the son of the Yondaime…wow." Ino stared at the blind blonde.

Kiba's jaw was hanging wide open.

"You must admit, the resemblance is hard not to see. I myself am ashamed for not having realized it sooner." Neji admitted.

"I still can't believe the villagers taunted him because he's blind, that's so disgusting." Tenten frowned.

"That is most unyouthful!" Lee agreed.

Sakura sat there in shame, her mother had told her that it was okay to belittle Naruto because he was an orphaned nobody, and she actually listened to her! She felt so ashamed and disgusted with herself that she had tears streaming down her eyes.

 _'_ _Naruto…I'm sorry…'_

Kankuro blinked in confusion, "I don't know why their acting like this, hell I knew he looked like the Yondaime Hokage, the features were obvious."

"Yeah no kidding, he looks really handsome with that black sash around his eyes." Temari blushed a little.

"What a bunch of fucking morons." Karui rolled her eyes.

"I kinda figured it out the first time I saw him." Omoi rubbed his chin.

"This village should be ashamed of themselves for treating him in such a way." Yugito stated.

Shikamaru sighed, _'These foreign ninja could tell right away but the people of the village couldn't, and neither could we.'_

Hinata felt sad for Naruto because the people of the village were so horrible towards him and made him suffer for a long time.

"What about all that crap about the Yellow Flash killing the Kyūbi? That's a lie isn't it?" Kurotsuchi smirked.

Naruto didn't say anything at first believing that the old man would get angry but since he was already revealing many things because of her there was no point in keeping silent about it, "That's not true…that was a lie the villagers fed themselves and spread it across the village and the young generation. A human can't kill a Bijū, and the Yondaime knew this so he sealed it inside a newborn baby. He died right after the sealing."

The younger generation that were gathered glared hard daggers at the older generation for feeding them such lies, the older generation couldn't even say anything or deny anything.

Kurotsuchi, "Really? Who was the kid?"

"I'm not sure." Naruto lied smoothly, "If your done asking questions, can we start now?"

"Thought you'd never ask." She floated in the air.

Naruto created a shadow clone and gave it his sword, "I won't be needing it for this fight, just pure Ninjutsu and probably some Taijutsu if she ever comes down from the ground."

The Shadow clone nodded and opted to stand over next to a shocked Genma not even looking at him and instead kept its eyes forward.

"Let's do this!" Kurotsuchi smirked, "Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu (Lava Style: Quicklime Jutsu)!" expelling a large quantity of quicklime from her mouth she shot it towards the blonde.

Naruto did the familiar hand sign that Sakura knew all too well, Rat → Dog → Tiger: "Mokuton: Mokujōheki (Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu)!" a wooden dome appeared around Naruto protecting him from her attack as it became hard around the wood dome. He let the wood dome come down, _'I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that I pretty much shocked everyone, right?'_

 ** _Kurama was laughing his ass off while Gyūki grinned, the shocked faces were completely hilarious!_**

 **Stands**

Zabuza was howling with laughter seeing everyone's shocked faces, "You dumbasses! Look at your faces!"

"Zabuza-sama, there's no need to laugh." Haku smiled, but it was obvious he was finding the situation to be pretty hilarious.

Gai blinked with surprise, "That was…the Shodaime's famous Mokuton! Naruto-kun truly is youthful!"

Asuma and Kurenai weren't surprised because they already knew about it.

"Looks like Naruto just surprised a whole lot of people just now." Asuma looked around seeing the shocked faces of everyone, civilian and shinobi.

"Yes, I can only imagine what the council might do now that they know he has the Shodaime's bloodline." Kurenai scowled.

Ino's eyes widened, "What the hell?! That's the Shodaime's Mokuton! Since when can Naruto use it?! Sakura did you know about this?!"

Sakura said nothing and just simply watched the match still disgusted with herself for how she treated Naruto in the past.

Choji blinked, "A-Amazing…"

"Holy crap!" Kiba yelled.

"So that's the Shodaime's famous Mokuton…" Neji stared on in awe.

"Wow…" Tenten stared.

"YOSH! NARUTO-KUN'S FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE MOST POWERFUL!" Lee had flames in his eye full or excitement.

 **Competitors Box**

Shikamaru stared at the blonde in complete disbelief, _'Naruto has the Mokuton! The Shodaime's kekkei genkai! This proves he's part Senju.'_

Hinata smiled as she watched Naruto use his kekkei genkai Mokuton, _'You can do it, Naruto-kun!'_

 **Hokage Booth**

Hiruzen went from furious at the Iwa kunoichi to feeling pride for Naruto as he used the Mokuton before everyone; it was obvious the blonde didn't care what the villagers or the council thought and neither did Hiruzen. Jiraiya did say that Naruto would surprise him during the finals; this must be what he meant.

A whistled clearly impressed, "So not only is he an Uzumaki but also a Senju? Well it shows, since he's using the Mokuton right before our very eyes."

"Indeed." Hiruzen agreed.

"But seriously Hiruzen, you allowed your people to treat the boy as a scapegoat? I threatened everyone in our village that if they so much as tried doing that to Yugito or Bee I'd slaughter them." A frowned towards the crowd.

Hiruzen sighed, "I had laws placed that prevented people from hurting the boy, but that proved to do nothing as they would still do it anyway or at least try to. They would also insult him to his face; mock him for his blindness, and other things but he simply ignored them. Naruto has lost complete trust in both the villagers and shinobi of this village…and I don't know if he'll ever trust them again."

"I wouldn't either if I was him," A agreed, "If one shinobi doesn't trust his village then that trust can never be regained again once its been lost."

"What a true statement, I must say Hokage-dono that I am somewhat disappointed in your village." Kazekage/Orochimaru stated with a hidden smirk. He was hoping the blonde would use the Mokuton and now he has, oh how much he wanted the boy. The very first blind ninja ever and he possesses the Mokuton kekkei genkai and has mastered it was what Orochimaru was hoping. Sasuke or Naruto? Who should he use as his new body first?

 **Arena**

Kurotsuchi glared, "Yeah, your a Senju alright."

Naruto smirked for once, _'I'm only part Senju, but oh well. Might as well accept that I am a Senju and that's that.'_

She clicked her teeth and used another technique, Tiger → Rat: "Yōton: Kaisekifū no Jutsu (Lava Style: Ash Stone Sealing Jutsu)!" she spewed out black ash from her mouth and towards Naruto.

Bird → Hare → Serpent: "Mokuton: Jukai Heki (Wood Style: Tree Wall Barrier)!" he created countless wooden branches that grew at high speeds and blocked the black ash from getting to him, but the blonde wasn't done just yet as he made the Snake hand sign, "Mokuton: Jukai Kōtan (Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence)!" multiple trees started growing all around the arena growing as tall as they could see, even blocking Kurotsuchi's view of Naruto.

She looked around, "Dammit! Where the hell is he?!" she started flying around the forest trying to sense where he was.

Naruto jumped on one of the trees from behind her and quickly got to work, Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake: "Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)!" a powerful gust of wind slammed into her from behind sending her hurling far away from him as her back slammed into the tree behind her making her fall to the ground.

She got up slowly and glared, "Dammit! I won't lose to that bastards son!" she declared.

Naruto knew he had to end this match otherwise she could get violent really fast, he clapped his hands together, "Fūton: Reppūshō (Wind Style: Gale Palm)!" he sent a powerful gust of wind towards her.

Kurotsuchi countered this, "Yōton: Gomuheki (Lava Style: Rubber Wall)!" she created a torrent of lava in front of her that formed into a wall taking in the powerful wind attack without even breaking proving just how durable it is.

 _'_ _So she can create a lava wall then. I know she's an earth style user too, but she hasn't used any yet.'_ He thought still standing up on a tree branch.

"Let's see how you handle this!" she smirked, Dragon → Tiger → Hare: "Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Style: Water Trumpet)!" she released a large jet of wind from her mouth through her hand as though she were playing the trumpet.

Naruto's eyes widened as he jumped back and away from the water technique, _'She's water style user too?! Well she is the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, so I shouldn't really be surprised. Time to get serious then.'_ Snake → Ram → Hare → Dog → Snake: "Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu)!" a wooden dragon sprouted up from the ground and shot towards Kurotsuchi who's back was still too sore to fly and instead jumped back away from the dragon that seemed to follow her movements.

"Damn!" she swore, Dog → Boar → Tiger → Ox → Rat → Bird: "Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu (Lava Style: Lava Monster Jutsu)!" spewing acidic flow from her mouth she sent it at the wooden dragon and watched it melt before her eyes. She landed safely back on the ground and Naruto appeared behind her quickly and got to work.

"Fūinjutsu: Kekkai Hōjin Sanrenshiki (Barrier Method Formation — Triple Formula)!" three sealing formulas were on the ground around her making her eyes widen.

"What the-" before she could finish an explosion was set off sending her flying until she slammed into another tree and fell to the ground but she wasn't unconscious and got back up, "You…what the hell was that…?"

"A Fūinjutsu technique, you forget I'm part of the Uzumaki clan and Fūinjutsu is our specialty." Naruto told her, _'But still…we've already wasted enough time talking, this needs to end. I'm going to have to use that on her to end this match.'_

"Bastard!" she charged at him giving him enough time to perform another seal his clone read from the Uzumaki scrolls and hoped that it would work. She was close enough to send a kick towards his head but at the last minute he moved away and brought his hand up to her stomach, his fingers glowing blue, "Gogyō Fūin (Five Pronged Seal)!" slamming his hand into her stomach she cried out in pain as she was sent flying away from him and rolled on the ground a few times before coughing and getting back up slowly, "What the hell…was that?" she then noticed something making her eyes widen, "My chakra…I can't feel it!"

"That's because I blocked off the chakra flow," Naruto told her getting ready to end this, "I'd tell you to forfeit but something tells me you won't and you need to see the medic for your back." He said making the Snake hand sign, "Mokuton: Kajukai Kōrin (Wood Style: Deep Forest Bloom)!" flowering trees grew at a rapid pace from underground, as soon as the grew the flowers started releasing pollen in Kurotsuchi's direction making her eyes feel heavy but she tried to stay conscious, key word: Try.

She was stubborn though and walked towards him slowly, "Damn…you…we will…have our…revenge…on you…Yellow Flash…!" she past out just as she reached him making him sigh in relief.

 _'_ _Finally…using Gogyō Fūin (Five Pronged Seal) and_ _Mokuton: Kajukai Kōrin (Wood Style: Deep Forest Bloom) takes up a lot of chakra and I can only feel a little, meaning she went down just in time before I could run out.'_ He thought.

 _"_ _I will restore some of your chakra for you." Asura told the blonde._

Naruto felt like his body was on fire but it was actually glowing white just like it did in the Forest of Death, _'Feels good to have some chakra restored, now I can take this forest down.'_ Making the Snake hand sign the forest he created as well as the flowers went back into the ground leaving only him and an unconscious Kurotsuchi before him. He felt someone poke him, using his senses he felt it was his shadow clone.

 _'_ _I honestly forgot I created one_ _at the beginning of the match,'_ he sweat-dropped, _'Sorry shadow clone.'_ Reaching his hand out the shadow clone gave him back his sword but he didn't dispel it since he needed the clone to help him get back up to the competitors booth, _'Why's it so quiet?'_

 ** _"_** ** _You just revealed your status even though that girl kinda helped you confirm it to these stupid people, used Senju Hashirama's Mokuton, and just proved to these idiots that you shouldn't be underestimated and your wondering why it's so quiet?" Kurama deadpanned._**

 _'…_ _Okay, point taken.'_ Naruto thought hearing Gyūki laugh in his head.

Genma approached with a smile, "Winner, Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki!"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, _'Seriously?'_ he thought as he heard the crowd start roaring with cheers for his victory making him feel even more annoyed than ever, _'Whatever, I don't care.'_ He started walking away with the help of his shadow clone up to the competitors box, _'Kurotsuchi basically revealed that she and her two teammates came here for the sole purpose of killing me because of my dad, and also revealed to stealing some of my hair and blood samples to prove their claim. The old man might be forced to kill them but I don't think the Tsuchikage will allow that. What a mess.'_

 **Hokage Booth**

Hiruzen smiled proudly at his surrogate grandson, _'I'm proud of you, Naruto.'_

"That was impressive. He kept his cool as soon as the match started, even when that girl revealed his heritage he didn't get mad or lash out and stayed calm even kept a cool head when the match started. The true signs of someone who is truly Chunin material, hell maybe even Jounin material." The Raikage grinned.

Hiruzen chuckled heartily, "If Naruto heard you say that he'd probably think you were joking. He honestly believes that no one makes Chunin on their first try and would say he's not Jounin material because of his age."

"Ha! We'll I say the kids ready! He has my vote for Chunin!" A grinned.

"And I agree." Hiruzen smiled.

"I agree as well, now the real problem is what to do with the girl? She revealed in her earlier rant that the only reason Iwa participated in the games was to kill the boy because of who his father is, even went as far as to steal his blood to confirm it." Kazekage/Orochimaru reminded.

"She should be executed but that old fool Ōnoki won't allow that and try to declare war if you try it. I can't believe that old fool actually had his own granddaughter come here to try and kill the boy, what the hell was he thinking?" A frowned.

"It's just like you said Raikage-dono, he's an old fool. And once an old fool, always an old fool." Kazekage/Orochimaru stated.

Hiruzen's face became serious, "I will be sending him a letter once the exams are over and will deal with both him and his ninja's."

"Heh, I almost feel sorry for the old fool. Almost." A grinned.

Jiraiya then chose that time to appear, "Yo!"

Hiruzen rolled his eyes, "Jiraiya, you missed Naruto's match."

"No I didn't, I was watching from another angle and I gotta say the brat did excellent." Jiraiya grinned.

"That he did, I'm proud of his growth and can't wait to see how the other participants fair in their matches." Hiruzen smiled.

 **Stands**

"WE'RE FUCKING RITCH!" Anko and Zabuza hollered.

Asuma had covered his ears, "Alright, alright we get it already, just lower your damn voices."

Kurenai giggled at them, "But still…Naruto was amazing in his match and now people will take him seriously."

Zabuza scoffed at her, "Who gives a shit about what these morons think. What makes you think the kid even cares about whether these morons take him seriously or not? I'll tell you this now, he doesn't give a damn what they think at all. The kid's lost trust in his own damn village and it shows."

Haku nodded, "I'm afraid Zabuza-sama is right, the people of the village have lost his trust and he will continue to ignore them as he's always done until they can regain his trust back."

"Who cares about that! LIFE SUPPLY OF DANGO'S HERE I COME!" Anko hollered from her seat while also jumping up and down from her seat making the people around her shake their heads.

Zabuza laughed his ass off, while Kurenai and Asuma shook their heads at the woman.

The merchant from the Land of Iron that sold Naruto the sword was in the crowd smiled at the blonde, "Naruto-dono did most excellent. I made the right choice in giving him that sword."

"The boy didn't need it for this battle but I wonder how good he's gotten?" a merchant from Takigakure wondered.

"He told me that he was getting better at it everyday thanks to Zabuza-dono." The man smiled.

"Hmmm, I wonder if an alliance with this village is even worth it?" The Takigakure merchant wondered thoughtfully.

"I'm thinking the same thing my friend."

 **Competitors Box**

Naruto and his Shadow Clone made it to the competitor's box still ignoring the cheering crowd. It really amazes him how humans can go from hating you all your life to starting to like you all of a sudden. Thinking about it now, it's actually _really_ annoying, like right now. The blonde stood next to Shikamaru who kept eyeing him as soon as he arrived, Naruto simply dispelled his clone as soon as it gave him his sword.

"Annoying." Naruto stated.

"So you don't care?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'd rather not give you my honest opinion on that right now because there's someone hiding from within the shadows." Naruto said motioning the shadow user to look behind them.

Shikamaru looked behind the blonde and saw what looked like someone from ANBU appear but it looked different and felt different, _'Is this really someone from the ANBU?'_

"Naruto Namikaze, you are to report to the Council room immediately." The ANBU said in a toneless voice.

Shikamaru flinched at the tone, yeah this guy can't be ANBU. They at least have some emotion in their voice but this person's completely emotionless. Like he's not even human.

"First off my name is "Naruto Uzumaki, not Naruto Namikaze." I may be his son but I have no intention of changing my last name. Did Hokage-sama call the meeting?" Naruto questioned.

"You are not authorized to know that."

"Then I'm not going. Please leave." Naruto told him not even bothering to look behind him.

Shikamaru felt like something bad was about to happen, and it won't be good at all.

"If you do not come willingly you will be forced."

"You're more than welcome to try, but I suggest you don't. Please leave." Naruto repeated.

 _'_ _This feeling I'm getting from him. I don't feel any emotions, almost like he's not even human. Is he someone from ROOT that Yamato-sensei warned me about?'_ the blonde wondered.

Before anything else could happen Yamato appeared in a puff of smoke glaring hard daggers at the ROOT Agent disguised as an ANBU captain, "If Hokage-sama didn't call for the meeting then I suggest you leave now before I bury you underground. Oh, and tell the _war hawk_ Tenzo says hello."

The ROOT Agent flinched then disappeared back into the shadows where he came.

Yamato sighed with relief, "Good thing I got here just in time, looks like the council didn't waste time at all. You okay?"

"I'm fine, but that person was not from ANBU. I felt no human emotion…and that's disturbing." Naruto frowned.

"Yeah, that's the war hawks fault. You can relax now though, I'm pretty sure they won't bother you. For now anyway." Yamato disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Naruto…" Shikamaru began to speak.

"Just watch the match and forget about it, Shikamaru." Naruto told him.

The shadow still looked like he had something to say but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Genma got the crowd to quiet down so he could announce the next match, "For the second match, Hinata Hyūga and Karui!"

Naruto smiled, "Do your best Hinata-chan."

Hinata blushed with a smile, "Right!" she ran down the stairs and appeared down in the arena facing Karui.

 **Stands**

"Alright! It's finally Hinata's turn!" Kiba grinned.

Neji eyed the cloud ninja but not with disdain, but that doesn't mean he was secretly wishing that Hinata would brutalize the young Kumo ninja.

"Karui uses Lightening based attacks, will Hinata be okay?" Tenten wondered.

"She'll be fine! There's no way she'll lose to that Kumo Genin!" Kiba declared loudly.

Choji nodded in agreement.

Sakura didn't even bother to comment with the other Rookies, feeling disgusted with her actions for how she treated Naruto all these years and wondered if he could find it in his heart to forgive her?

Kurenai was a little worried for her student. While true she did beat her cousin Neji Hyūga, but this was someone from Kumogakure no Sato so she was right to be worried.

"Relax, Hinata will be fine." Asuma assured her.

Kurenai was still anxious but smiled at Asuma's reassuring words to her, _'He's right. Hinata will be fine.'_

 **Hokage Booth**

"What are your thoughts on the match, A?" Hiruzen asked in curiosity.

A took the time to think about it then came up with an answer, "Karui is very skilled in swordplay but she might have met her match with the Hyūga girl."

"An honest and fair assessment." Kazekage/Orochimaru commented.

Hiruzen chuckled as he watched the two kunoichi stared at each other from the other side of the arena, _'This should be an interesting match. The girl's Kenjutsu is indeed very impressive but Hinata's amazing herself.'_

 **Arena**

Hinata was completely calm as she faced her opponent from Kumogakure no Sato. Some of her clan members still held a grudge against them for trying to take the Byakugan and she knew her father still held one over the death of his brother and her uncle. She would not lose this match! She would do her best to win!

 _'_ _I can't lose! I will not lose!'_ She declared within her mind.

Genma appeared in between the two seeing how they looked serious and ready to get this started already, "Okay you two, you know the rules. Are you ready?"

Both girls nodded.

Genma nodded in understanding, "The second match between Hinata Hyūga and Karui…begin!" he got out of there quickly.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and Karui wasted no time in charging at the Hyūga heiress and Hinata waited for the red head to get in close before she started dodging her precise sword strikes. She moved so nimbly that Karui couldn't get a single hit on her at all.

The Hyūga heiress figure she wasted enough time and started going on offense forcing Karui to dodge the best she could, but was having a hard time keeping up Hinata as the girl wasn't letting her get the chance to retaliate.

 **Competitors Box**

Naruto was calm throughout Hinata's match. True he couldn't see it, but he knew in his heart that she would win just like she won against Neji. Karui was still skilled in his opinion even though her match against Akatsuchi proved he went down voluntarily; she was still a skilled kunoichi.

 _'_ _Karui uses lightning style just like half of the shinobi in Kumogakure no Sato do, so she might use that against Hinata or simply use the same technique she used against Akatsuchi. Whatever she plans to do Hinata should be able to counter it, she just has to be careful.'_ He thought.

 **Stands**

"All right! Hinata's kicking ass out there!" Kiba grinned.

Choji nodded as he ate his chips, "Her and Karui are really strong."

Neji crossed his arms, "No matter how skilled that kunoichi is, Hinata-sama will not lose."

Tenten smirked, "Is that so?" she teased.

He looked away with a small blush.

"HINATA-SAN'S YOUTHFUL FLAMES ARE BURNING BRIGHTER THAN EVER!" Lee shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I AGREE MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT!" Gai agreed.

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

They embraced each other much to the horror of everyone else who were forced to witness such a terrifying event.

Zabuza shut his eyes quickly, "Dammit! What the hell kind of Genjutsu is this?!"

Haku had his eyes closed as well, "Don't look Zabuza-sama!"

"Gai you asshole! I'll castrate you for this!" Anko yelled.

"I'll help you with that one, Anko." Kurenai glared at the green jumpsuit ninja.

 **Arena**

Karui jumped back to gain some distance between the two, "Not bad for a Hyūga, lets see how you handle this! Ninpō: Rairyū no Tatsumaki (Ninja Art: Thunder Dragon Tornado)!" her blade became incased in lightning as a lightning dragon appeared and came at Hinata.

Hinata jumped back herself waiting for it to come at her, once it was close enough she wasted no time in countering the jutsu, "Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation)!" a purple sphere surrounded her as she started spinning around to keep the lightning jutsu from hitting her. The lightning dragon slammed into the barrier unable to break through it was cancelled out just as Hinata stopped spinning in place. The Hyūga heiress wasted no time in appearing before Karui using her stunned reaction as an opportunity to finish this, "Hakkeshō Sōshutsūha (Eight Trigrams Twin Back Pierce)!" she hit Karui sending the kunoichi in the air but didn't stop there as she jumped in the air continuing her assault with more hits then a final concentrated hit with both palms sending Karui flying back down to the ground creating a crater. Hinata landed back on the ground and stared into the smoke with her Byakugan still activated not wanting to be taken by surprise. Once the smoke cleared everyone saw Karui was unconscious.

Genma appeared to announce the winner, "Winner, Hinata Hyūga!"

Everyone cheered for the girl making her blush slightly as she walked back to the competitors booth still blushing not expecting such a large crowd to cheer for her, _'I wonder how Naruto-kun felt when it happened to him?'_

 **Stands**

"HELL YEAH!" Kiba shouted with glee.

"That's what I'm talking about! Hinata totally kicked ass!" Ino pumped her fist in the air.

Sakura showed a small smile, "Yeah…she did…"

"She's gotten really strong." Choji commented.

Tenten turned to Neji, "She won and didn't get a single scratch on her either."

Neji smiled softly, "Yes, she did very well."

Kurenai sighed with relief as Hinata won her match, "That girl is really amazing."

"No kidding. That was a new move she used to finish tat Karui girl off." Asuma commented.

"That's a strong kunoichi you've got there Kurenai, I like her." Anko smirked.

"Don't even think about it, Anko." Kurenai deadpanned.

"Awww, you're no fun." Anko pouted.

Yamato looked over at Killer bee, "How do you feel about her losing her match against Hinata?"

"Karui fought like a beast but needs more training to keep it up, yeah~!" Bee rapped.

Yamato sighed lowering his head, "Its no use…I have no idea what he's talking about."

 **Competitors Box**

Naruto smiled, "She won."

Shikamaru eyed him, "You already knew she'd win though, didn't you?"

"Who knows?"

"Troublesome."

"Hinata was impressive. I am proud to be her teammate." Shino commented.

"Karui will be complaining when she wakes up." Omoi stated the obvious.

Yugito chuckled, "She'll get over it."

"Doubt it." Omoi said.

"Now _that's_ how real kunoichi fight." Temari stated crossing her arms remembering that stupid match she was force to watch between Sakura and Ino. It was embarrassing.

 _'_ _I'm not touching that one.'_ Kankuro thought.

Gaara didn't care and kept his eyes on Naruto throughout the whole match, his mother screaming for the blonde's blood.

 **Hokage Booth**

Hiruzen noticed A wasn't all that upset about Karui losing, "You seem rather calm."

A crossed his arms, "She did well, but needs more training. Karui can still improve."

"I agree." Hiruzen agreed.

Kazekage/Orochimaru said nothing as he waited for Sasuke to hurry up and appear so they can start the invasion.

 **Arena**

Genma announced the next match, "The next match will now commence between Omoi and Yugito Nii!"

 **Competitors Box**

Omoi raised his hand in the air, "Excuse me, but I forfeit!"

 **Stands**

"WHAT?!" Ino and Kiba bellowed.

"He just gave up?! What the hell?!" Kiba yelled.

"Well…she did beat you with a single jutsu, so maybe he's forfeiting because he doesn't want that to happen to him." Choji reminded.

Kiba looked away embarrassed.

 **Competitors Box**

The crowd the booed Omoi who didn't care about the booing at all. He'd seen Yugito fight back in Kumo even though it was against Killer Bee and he'd be damned if he went up against her. That'd be suicide.

 _'_ _Forgive me, Raikage-sama but I stand no chance against Yugito-san.'_ Omoi thought.

Yugito was amused by the fact that he forfeited.

 **Hokage Booth**

"That was a wise decision." A had the urge to laugh actually, his bodyguards didn't even comment.

Hiruzen chuckled, while Jiraiya had the urge to laugh his ass off but decided to be on his best behavior.

For now.

 **Arena**

Genma calmed the crowd down, "Winner by forfeit…Yugito Nii! Next match Temari Sabaku vs. Shikamaru Nara!"

 **Competitors Box**

Shikamaru watched as Temari flew down to the arena using her fan waiting for him to get down there. The Nara had absolutely no interest in becoming a Chūnin and he wasn't interested in fighting another girl either and was about to forfeit too, but before he could.

"Shikamaru…if you even think about forfeiting this match I'll toss you down there with the help of my clones." Naruto told the Nara heir with an evil smile.

Shikamaru knew he was screwed.

 _'_ _Troublesome blonde.'_

* * *

 **Next Time: Invasion of Konoha**


	11. Invasion of Konoha

I'm thinking about doing a fanfiction where Naruto is able to use Senjutsu early on in his life, as for how I'm going to have him with the Tenseigan I still have no idea how I'm going to make that work, but I'll think of something. Also on another note, Celestial Being and Journey Through Kanto are not abandoned so don't worry.

* * *

The finals for the Chūnin exams continue on. After Omoi forfeited the match to Yugito Nii the next match up is between Shikamaru and Temari, but the Nara heir's motivation is non-existent. What will he do? Forfeit or fight?

* * *

Shikamaru sighed as he stared at the floating clouds in the sky looking bored out of his mind. Why was he here again? Oh yeah, his sensei signed them up for the Chūnin exams. Why was he about to fight another girl? Because Naruto threatened to toss him down here with the help of his clones. After years of observing the blonde he knew that wasn't just some empty threat, it was a promise. Dammit. Why couldn't he just watch the clouds as much as pleased without having to be bothered by something as pointless as the Chūnin exams, and to add insult to injury he had to fight another girl, but not just any girl it was the same girl that dominated Tenten and showed no mercy at all.

 _'_ _This is such a drag. Of all the people they could have paired me up with it just had to be her. Just look at that face, I recognize that kind of expression anywhere. My mom would use the same look on dad whenever she was pissed off.'_ Shikamaru thought trying to figure a way out of this situation but knew there was none.

Temari was glaring at her opponent, _'What's with this idiot? He's got that stupid look on his face.'_

"Next match between Temari Sabaku and Shikamaru Nara…begin!" Genma announced getting out of the way.

Shikamaru sighed as he once again looked up at the sky to stare at the clouds watching them float freely without a care in the world, _'I wish I was a cloud…that way I won't have to do anything.'_

Temari slammed her fan down, "What's with that stupid look on your face?"

Shikamaru reluctantly turned his attention back to her, "This is way too troublesome. Why did they pair me up with another girl, and of all girls why did it have to be you of all people?"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

 **Competitors Box**

Naruto shook his head, "He said that out loud and to her face. Genius or not that was stupid to say."

"Shikamaru-san…" Hinata sighed.

 **Stands**

Ino smacked the palm of her hand to her forehead, "That sexist idiot…"

Choji munched on his chips merrily, "Shikamaru's always been this way, so it's really not all that surprising."

"But still." In sighed.

Tenten was frowning at Temari, "She's no pushover that's for sure. I still can't believe she managed send all of my weapons flying like that."

"It was a bad match up Tenten, had it been someone else your victory would have been absolute." Neji tried cheering her up.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Yosh! Neji-kun and Tenten flames are burning brightly!" Lee exclaimed.

Tenten pulled on his cheeks with a blush on her face, "Shut up, Lee!"

Neji didn't bother to stop her either. There are just some things that are better left unsaid.

"Is Shikamaru even gonna be able to win against her? The guy's too damn lazy." Kiba said looking uninterested.

"You shouldn't underestimate Shikamaru," Choji told Kiba seriously which took everyone by surprise, "Naruto told me something once back when we were all in the Academy Naruto told me something."

"What did he tell you?" Sakura wondered.

"He said, "If by any chance I go up against Shikamaru there's a chance I'd lose unless I can manage to trick him into doing something stupid and manage to win." Choji quoted.

All the rookies began to think about the blonde's words regarding the Nara heir and his hidden potential. If Naruto says is true then Shikamaru might be a prodigy just as much as Sasuke and Neji.

Asuma smiled having heard what Choji said, "Naruto's spent a lot of time around Shikamaru to know enough not to underestimate. His opponent shouldn't underestimate him either."

"What do you mean?" Kurenai questioned.

Asuma turned his smile to her, "Believe it or not Shikamaru's IQ is 200, meaning he's a lot smarter than he's showing. He's a smart young man he just needs some motivation."

Yamato nodded in agreement, "That's true, and since he's going up against Temari there's no telling what he'll do."

"Should be interesting to watch then." Asuma said.

 **Arena**

Temari wasted no time in coming at Shikamaru since he wasn't moving, lifting her fan in the air she slammed it down right where Shikamaru was standing causing some smoke to appear and cracks in the ground. Once the smoke cleared up it revealed Shikamaru was gone.

"What?" Temari looked around.

"Ninpō: Kagemane no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu)!" a voice announced from behind the pigtail wearing blonde kunoichi forcing her to jump away quickly having seen a black shadow stretch out towards her.

She managed to get some distance and use her fan to create a line in the ground to prevent the shadow from coming anywhere near her. _'That was close! I need to keep my distance from him as much as possible so I don't get caught by his shadow. Lucky for me his shadow jutsu seems to have a limit as to how far he can stretch it.'_

Shikamaru having seen his jutsu failed to capture her hid back in the trees where he was partially hidden by the shadows the trees created to conceal him from Temari while he thought of his next move.

 _'_ _I figured she'd do that, even created a line in the ground to determine how far I can send out my jutsu. She's not the type to go down without a fight either, so this match could drag out longer than I want it to. Troublesome.'_ He did a pose and closed his eyes thinking of his next move.

 **Competitors Box**

"Shikamaru's the type to think of everything like it's a game of Shōgi," Naruto spoke, "This is just another one of those instances where he sees this match as a game of Shōgi. Two pawns are trying to checkmate each other using their own individual skills."

"So Shikamaru-san has a chance of winning against Temari-san?" Hinata questioned.

"Actually this match could go either way. Shikamaru or Temari could win, but with Shikamaru he might be able to pull off a win intentionally or unintentionally." Naruto smiled.

Hinata giggled, "That's true."

"There's a possibility Shikamaru could be victorious in this battle." Shino added his two cents.

"Yep." Naruto agreed.

 **Stands**

"Neither of them are moving." Kurenai observed.

"Shikamaru's trying to think of what his next move will be," Asuma explained, "I told you his IQ is 200, so its possible he's already thought of what possible moves he's going to use against Temari in order to back her into a corner and win this match."

Kurenai gave him a shocked look, "That's…incredible. If he's so smart then why in the world does he act so lazy?"

"He's a _Nara_ Kurenai." Asuma reminded.

"Right…" she had forgotten that some of them are lazy, including Shikaku when he feels like it.

 **Arena**

Shikamaru snapped his eyes open having thought of several strategies in how to deal with Temari, all he was waiting for is…

Temari didn't want to waste anymore time and came at the Nara heir making him smirk. That was what he was waiting for. She slammed her fan down on the ground once again right where he was only to see he was nowhere in sight making her look around again.

"Up here."

Looking she saw the smirking Nara looking down at her with his hands in his pockets, "Just what I was hoping you'd do." He said as a shadow began to crawl down forcing her to jump away from him to get some distance.

 _'_ _Dammit! He was counting on me charging at him so he could get me close up to use his jutsu on me! Sneaky bastard!'_ she thought getting far enough but her eyes soon widened when she saw the shadow almost get her as it stretched out far again taking her by surprise, _'What the hell?! But how?!'_ she backed up some more and was finally far enough to wonder how the hell did he manage to stretch out his shadow. She had opened her fan and used it to shield her and create another line in the ground, _'How the hell did he manage to stretch it out some more?!'_ hearing something fall to the ground she peaked her head out and saw how he did it. A kunai! _'He used a kunai to make it stretch out some more! If I hadn't moved quick enough he would have gotten me!'_

"Temari above you!" Kankuro's voice shouted alerting her.

She looked up and saw a jacket floating above her making her eyes widen as the shadow stretched again forcing her to once again move back to avoid getting caught.

"You won't escape!" Shikamaru said having appeared out in the open once he saw her open her fan up and was stretching out his shadow to try and capture her.

Temari clicked her tongue having finally gotten enough distance where the shadow couldn't reach her. She didn't have time to relax though as she saw kunai fly right past her and explode causing smoke to appear and cloud her vision, "Trying to prevent me from seeing you, huh? Well two can play at that game!" declared, "Ninpō: Fūsajin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Sandstorm Jutsu)!" she used her fan to generate a gust of wind that layered the surrounding area in a blast of sand blinding Shikamaru forcing him to jump back this time to regain some part of his vision which worked as he covered his eyes so no sand would get in them.

"You're done!" Temari declared only to find she couldn't move much to her shock, "Wh-What?! I can't move!"

Shikamaru smirked, "Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Jutsu) successful."

"What?! How?!" Temari exclaimed.

"I'll let you look behind you." Shikamaru looked behind him forcing Temari to do the same. Her eyes widened when she noticed a gaping hole in the ground, "If your confused I'll explain it to you. When the match first started you slammed your fan into the ground causing the first hole in the ground to appear." He allowed her to look forward again and she noticed the first hole she created which was right in the middle of them.

 _'_ _How did I miss that?!'_ she thought.

"As for that second hole in the ground I made that myself when I threw that explosive kunai at you. You probably thought I was using it to obscure your vision, which is about half right because I wanted to make sure you couldn't see me or the hole I created." He explained.

Temari was flabbergasted, _'He planned all of this?!'_

Shikamaru sighed as he made the following hand signs, Dragon → Tiger → Rat "This is too troublesome, but I have to do this," he said, "Ninpō: Kage–Kubishibari no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shadow Strangle Jutsu)." The shadow below Temari started crawling up her aiming right for her neck shaping into a hand to try and strangle her, "Nothing personal, but will you forfeit? I don't feel right strangling a girl to death."

Temari couldn't move nor was she in any position to deny his request either. There was only one thing to do in this situation, and that was forfeit.

"Proctor I forfeit." Temari said in a defeated tone. Her pride had taken a big blow today, and she would surely never forget this match either.

Genma appeared before them, "Winner by forfeit, Shikamaru Nara!"

With another sigh Shikamaru released Temari going over to get his jacket before walking away, "Good thing too because I'm out of chakra. What a troublesome day this is."

 **Hokage Booth**

Hiruzen smiled, "Interesting. I was expecting Shikamaru to forfeit, but I guess he decided to end it in his own unique way."

A looked at the old man, "What kind of ninja forfeits as soon as he has his opponent backed into a corner?"

"Obviously you've never been around a Nara." Hiruzen joked.

A thought about it before agreeing with that assessment, "You have a point."

Kazekage/Orochimaru chuckled.

 **Stands**

Kiba stared down at the arena in complete shock, "He won…he actually won…"

Choji smiled, "I told you."

"Alright! Way to go, Shikamaru!" Ino cheered.

"Take that you wind blowing blonde-" Tenten ranted before her mouth was covered by Lee and Neji knowing whatever she had to say would not be good.

"Wow, Shikamaru's something else." Sakura said.

Asuma smirked, "You see? I told you."

"Yes you did." Kurenai sighed with a smile.

Yamato smiled, "He may be lazy and unmotivated but he has the skills to become a Chūnin."

"Yeah~!" Bee agreed.

"Shikamaru's flames of youth are burning bright!" Gai yelled in excitement.

Zabuza had a tick mark on his forehead, "Will you shut the hell up already?!"

Haku sighed as Anko laughed her ass off at Zabuza's expense.

 **Competitors Box**

Naruto smiled having sensed Shikamaru walk back over to them, "Nice work, though to be honest I was expecting you to forfeit."

"I was going to but then remembered what my mom told me if I even thought about it." Shikamaru sighed.

"What did she say?" Hinata asked.

"She said she'd ban me from playing Shōgi ever again if I so much as forfeited the match." Shikamaru grumbled.

Naruto snorted, "Well the threat worked."

"She wasn't saying that to be threatening." Shikamaru deadpanned.

"Your problem." Naruto said unsympathetically.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled again.

Hinata giggled at them, while Shino said nothing and simply observed as he waited for his match to start. Temari came back to the competitor's side and glared hard daggers at the Nara heir but Shikamaru could honestly care less about it.

 **Arena**

"For the next match, Kankuro Sabaku and Shino Aburame come down here!"

 **Competitors Box**

Kankuro clicked his tongue, _'My match just had to be right after Temari's. Anyway, I can't risk showing my skills here and out in the open.'_ And with that he raised his hand, "Proctor, I forfeit!"

Shino raised a brow at that but said nothing.

 **Arena**

"Winner by forfeit, Shino Aburame!" Genma announced.

The crowd started booing Kankuro would just stood there not really caring about it all that much. He had to stick to the plan.

"Final match will be against Gaara Sabaku and Sasuke Uchiha!"

Gaara materialized down to the arena using a Suna body flicker waiting for his opponent to show his face. Genma could feel the bloodlust coming off from the kid and had to suppress a shutter that travelled down his spine, but managed to ignore it in favor of wondering where the hell Sasuke Uchiha was.

"Sasuke Uchiha get down here now or you will be disqualified!" Genma yelled.

The crowd was starting to get anxious and started yelling demanding to see Sasuke Uchiha go up against Gaara Sabaku seeing as how some made bets on him except the foreign ninja who only came to see Naruto and weren't impressed by the 'Last Loyal Uchiha.'

 **Hokage Booth**

A was starting to pissed off, "Hiruzen, will you please shut them up?! At least disqualify the Uchiha brat or something!"

Jiraiya nodded his head in agreement.

Hiruzen was considering it, "You're right Raikage-sama, though instead of disqualifying Sasuke I have another idea."

A and Kazekage/Orochimaru gave him a confused look as they saw the old man stand up and address the crowd making them go quiet, "When a shinobi doesn't show up for their own match it is a sign they have no respect for the Hokage or the village!" he declared making everyone shut their mouths and not say a word, "Though I will not disqualify Sasuke Uchiha I refuse to wait on him to appear nor will I make his opponent wait for him either. In Sasuke's place to fight Gaara will be Naruto Uzumaki!"

 **Competitors Box**

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Did he just say what I think he said?"

Hinata gave him a nervous smile while Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders in response, "Looks like you'll be taking Sasuke's place until he shows up."

"I'd rather not, but since he already announced it I might as well get down there and get this over with." The blonde said summoning a shadow clone to help him down to the arena where he was standing before Gaara with not too happy expression as he sent the clone away, _'Might as well get this over with. Sasuke better get here before Genma announces we can begin.'_

 ** _Kurama and Gyūki were snickering at the blonde's misfortune, "Suck to be you." The fox teased._**

 _'…_ _Whatever.'_

Genma looked to the crowd and saw some who had no problem with Naruto going up against Gaara, but there were those who weren't all that interested wanting to see Sasuke's fight instead. He looked at the blonde seeing he didn't really care and looked bred out of his mind, _'Kid looks like he has no interest at all.'_

Gaara grinned at Naruto, "Uzumaki…"

Naruto sighed gripping his blade, "Let's just get this over with already."

Genma raised his arm in the air, "Final match between Gaara Sabaku and Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki…"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched when the man used his full name, _'I'm getting sick of him using my full name like that.'_

Before Genma could start the match a swirl of leaves interrupted revealing Kakashi and Sasuke standing back to back trying to look cool. Naruto could care less though for some of those that were cheering that Sasuke showed up. Kakashi gave an eye smile to Genma who didn't look impressed one bit, "Sorry about that, are we late?"

"Obviously Kakashi, Hokage-sama decided to let Naruto fight Gaara in Sasuke's place." Genma stated.

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock while Sasuke looked enrage they arrived late no thanks to Kakashi. Before any words could be said the blonde walked away much to their confusion, "Next time don't waste everyone's time and actually show up to your match." He made another shadow clone to help him get back up to the competitors box leaving a stunned Kakashi there.

 **Competitors Box**

Naruto sent the shadow clone away as he appeared next to Hinata who gave him a worried look, "Are you okay?"

"I'm annoyed." Naruto told her.

"You look annoyed." Shikamaru said.

"In any case Sasuke Uchiha finally showed up to his match." Shino stated.

Naruto was massaging his temples, _'I'm not even gonna bother with warning him about Gaara either. Sasuke's a big boy and can take care of himself.'_

 **Stands**

Kakashi appeared in the stands giving everyone his famous eye smile, "Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei, your late! You missed everything!" Sakura yelled at him.

"Oh?" Kakashi said looking intrigued.

Yamato didn't look at him as he spoke, "Naruto won his match against Kurotsuchi, but before they started fighting the girl revealed his full heritage out in the open to everyone."

Kakashi's eyes widened, "What?!"

"Yo! Nine-O kicking ass and taking names, fool, ya fool!" Killer Bee rapped.

Asuma sighed, "How is that you missed out on Naruto's match? I get that Sasuke's your favorite student Kakashi but don't you think both Naruto and Sakura deserve your attention, too?"

Kurenai nodded her head in agreement.

"I don't prefer Sasuke over Naruto and Sakura." Kakashi told him.

Zabuza snorted, "Yeah, keep telling yourself that." He high-fived Anko as soon as he said that.

Kakashi didn't say anything as he let his lone eye fall on Naruto who was conversing with Hinata and Shikamaru, a part of him felt really guilty about not training Naruto or Sakura for that matter. Her match against Ino during the Preliminaries was his fault because he didn't try to knock that fangirl state out of her head and Naruto dominated his opponent without his help.

 **Arena**

Gaara still kept his eyes on Naruto not even seeing Sasuke as a threat. The red head couldn't understand why, but there was something about the blonde that drew the sand user towards him. Whatever this feeling was he wouldn't ignore it anytime soon. A wall of sand blocked an incoming punch from Sasuke towards him making the re head turn his attention to the Uchiha.

"Keep your eyes on me!" Sasuke told him.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at the boy his sand already coming at him forcing Sasuke to retreat back to avoid getting caught by his sand using his nee speed that was similar to Lee's something both Gai and Lee noticed.

 **Stands**

"Kakashi, did you by chance teach Sasuke about Lee's Taijutsu style?" Gai asked calmly surprising the Jounin around him.

"Well…I figured he needed some speed to help him against Gaara's sand." Kakashi explained.

"I see." Gai nodded.

Zabuza snorted, "I'd be pissed off if I were him."

"That's just how Gai is," Asuma commented, "I don't even think I've seen him angry."

"Me neither." Kurenai said.

"Go Sasuke-kun!" Ino shouted forcing Kiba to cover his ears.

"Seriously Ino I'm sitting right here!" Kiba complained.

Choji chuckled at Kiba's misfortune.

Lee was staring down at Gaara with an intense stare making his teammates look at him; both of them knew Lee wanted to fight Gaara again, but there's a chance he might not get to since people believe he may never become a ninja ever again.

Sakura said nothing as she stared down at Sasuke her face filled with worry, and how couldn't she not worry? Gaara had fought against Lee whose speed was too much for Sasuke to handle even with his Sharingan, yet the sand ninja had used his sand to block Lee's advances each time. Even when the Genin opened the Eight Gates tossed Gaara around like a ragdoll the sand ninja didn't even looked all that fazed by the assault nor injured as he willed his sand to crush both Lee's arm and leg.

 _'_ _Please be careful, Sasuke-kun!'_

* * *

Naruto wasn't all that worried about Sasuke since the Uchiha can think on his feet when the situation calls for it. Gaara's sand has two elemental weaknesses, fire and water. When water comes into contact with sand it makes it soggy and unusable, as for fire well he wasn't quite sure with that but he knew fire dominates sand, well Gaara's sand anyway. If Sasuke actually thinks about using his fire jutsu as a line of defense then he might have a chance to stall Gaara's sand strike, even use it against the red heads sand defense.

But here's the problem with that.

Sasuke's arrogance.

Sasuke's arrogant nature overrides his rational thinking, prime example was the very first C-rank mission turned A-rank they took in Nami no Kuni. When Zabuza showed up and insulted the Uchiha clan Sasuke threw all rationality out the window and almost did something stupid had he not stopped him. There's a limit to how arrogant a person can be, and in many cases arrogance can lead you to an early grave and that's especially true in the ninja world they live in. He couldn't blame Sasuke though, if anything the villagers share the blame for his behavior and how he treats people around him like they're beneath him. When the Uchiha Massacre happened everyone pampered him like a prince and never scolded him whenever he did something wrong, placing him on a pedestal and saying he could do no wrong because of his Uchiha blood. There's a huge difference between Sasuke and him though, unlike Sasuke he was scorned and loathed by both the shinobi and villagers of this village despite him being the son of the beloved Yondaime Minato Namikaze (aka-The Yellow Flash) and strongest kunoichi Kushina (aka-The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero). Having experience nothing but hardships in life made him a better person and able to understand others who have experienced the same hatred and prejudice as he suffered, and since he was a Jinchūriki he understood how the rest like him felt to be ostracized simply because your different. Now that it was out he was the son of the Yondaime and his wife Kushina Uzumaki the villagers would probably try to pamper him and treat him like some kind of prince like they do Sasuke every single day, well…he wanted no part of it. He'd been working hard since the very beginning and it was going to stay that way. Being pampered and having things handed to you on a silver platter means you cant grow as a person in his opinion, and that's not what he wants. He's not Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki.

He's Naruto Uzumaki. The same person before and now.

From within his mindscape he could feel pride rolling off of Kurama in droves with respect coming off from Gyūki as well. He was who he was, and that was never going to change.

* * *

The battle between Gaara and Sasuke felt like it was going to drag on with the Uchiha finally gaining enough speed to get through the sand ninja's defense only to have another layer of sand block his path once again making him clench his teeth. Gaining some distance between himself and the sand user he latched himself onto the wall of the stadium before doing some familiar hand signs that some Jounin recognized.

Ox → Rabbit → Monkey:

* * *

Gai's eyes widened having recognized the hand signs, "Kakashi! Did you really teach him _that_ jutsu?!"

Kakashi eyed Gai out of the corner of his eye, "Yes I did. Because he's a lot like me."

Sakura looked confused, "What is it? What kind of jutsu is that?"

"It is known as Chidori (One Thousand Birds)," Gai started explaining, "Its an A-rank assassination jutsu that was created by Kakashi here."

The Genin all had wide eyes as Gai explained what kind of jutsu Sasuke was using.

"While I am in no position to tell you how to train your students teaching him that jutsu is very dangerous Kakashi." Gai said seriously.

"Says the person who taught his own Genin how to open the Eight Gates." Kakashi retorted.

"That's different and you know it!" Gai yelled.

"Yeah? How?"

"I have faith and complete trust in Lee to know he won't just open the gates as much as he wants as a last resort everytime or use it to show off!" Gai stated.

Lee had tears streaming down his eyes, "GAI-SENSEI~!"

Neji and Tenten both face palmed at his actions. He was just too much sometimes.

"Do you have something to say Gai?" Kakashi's tone sounded dangerous making some of the Genin there uncomfortable.

Zabuza was munching on some popcorn, "This is getting good."

"Pass me some of that." Anko said watching the scene herself.

Zabuza passed the popcorn over to her as Haku blinked in wonder, _'Now where in the world did he get that popcorn from?'_

Instead of Gai speaking Yamato spoke up this time, "I believe what Gai is saying is that you favor Sasuke over both Naruto and Sakura, and while Naruto may not care about your laid back teaching methods I do."

Everyone looked back and forth between the two wondering if a fight was about to break out or something. Not good.

"Naruto gets more results training by himself or with other people than training with you," Yamato continued, "The one who taught him how keep a calm mind in situations was me, the one who taught him to value your comrades was Iruka Umino, the one who helped him improve his Kenjutsu skills was Zabuza Momochi, a missing-nin from Kirigakure no Sato no less."

Zabuza smirked still munching on his popcorn.

"What I'm saying is, Naruto got more training from us than he ever did with you. You didn't even bother to teach Sakura Haruno anything and it showed when she went up against Ino Yamanaka during the preliminaries it was sad to say the least." Yamato continued.

Sakura hung her head down in shame at that comment while Ino rubbed her back, but truth be told Ino felt bad herself for not giving her all during the preliminary round she didn't even train enough to improve her skills either, or lack there of anyway.

"As a matter of fact you could have given Sakura over to Kurenai who specializes in genjutsu or Anko for gods sake! Both would have been great tutors for her." Yamato said.

Kurenai and Anko beamed at the mention of their names.

Kakashi turned his attention to Yamato, "You might want to watch yourself Yamato."

Yamato stood up his gaze never leaving Kakashi's, "We're not in ANBU anymore…Kakashi- _sempai_."

The air between the two was thick and heavy, none of the other Jounin wanted to move from their positions and simply watched on to see what would happen next.

Asuma stood up slowly, "Now hold on you two, there's no reason to start a fight right now. Besides we need to focus more on Sasuke's match right now, alright?"

"Asuma's right, you both have to calm down." Kurenai said trying to calm them down.

Yamato and Kakashi kept their stares for a little while longer before they sat down and continued to watch Sasuke's match to the relief of everyone around them.

* * *

Sasuke came down from the wall charging at Gaara his speed increasing as he surged forward, "Chidori (One Thousand Birds)!" thrusting his arm forward he managed to pierce through Gaara's defense little by little actually getting him in the shoulder making it bleed.

There was stunned silence from Temari and Kankuro who couldn't believe Gaara actually got injured enough to draw blood. There was a sudden spike of killing intent as everyone around the stadium felt it coming off of Gaara in droves making some people feel uncomfortable.

"Blood…my blood!" Gaara made a crazed look before he sent a sand arm to punch Sasuke in the stomach sending him far away from the boy. Sasuke got up slowly holding his stomach as he watched Gaara's form change into something monstrous, half of his body became sand with him sporting a sand arm with claws and half his face showing a yellow eye and ears.

* * *

"Shit! Gaara's gone berserk!" Kankuro cursed.

"Gaara…" Temari said.

* * *

Naruto felt a spike in Gaara's chakra, _'This is not good.'_

 ** _"_** ** _Naruto." Kurama warned._**

The blonde gripped his blade tightly in his hands, _'Yeah, I know.'_ Just then Naruto felt the air become distorted somewhat making him look around in confusion, _'Distortion? A Genjutsu!'_ "Kai!" he dispelled it, "What's going on?"

 ** _"_** ** _You're being invaded that's what happening!" Kurama stated the obvious._**

 _'_ _Well thanks for that information.'_ Naruto deadpanned.

 ** _"_** ** _Incoming! Enemies are headed right for you!" Gyūki warned._**

 _'_ _How many?'_

 ** _"_** ** _Five." Kurama told him._**

Naruto felt all five of them surround him, "Can I help you?"

"You are to come with us so that we may take you to Orochimaru-sama." One of the ninja declared.

"I'll pass thank you, but your more than welcome to try and make me." Naruto invited them to try something. Not long after he said that all five of them came at him but he remained calm disappearing from sight taking all five by surprise, "Aka Senkō (Red Flash)." With a red after image he swiped his blade once before sheathing it again, as soon as he did all five ninja's lost their heads, arms, and legs before falling to the ground dead.

He landed gracefully on the ground before trying to find where the other enemies were, "There are some near where the other Genin and Jounin are."

 ** _Kurama gave a vicious smirk, "Time to seek and destroy."_**

"Sounds good to me." Naruto said before disappearing again from the stands unaware that Shino, Shikamaru, and Hinata had woken up right after he killed those five sound ninja's.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said sadly.

Shikamaru clicked his tongue, "Shino."

"I've already placed one of my female insects on him." Shino told him.

"Thanks."

"What are you planning, Shikamaru-san?" Hinata wondered.

"You'll see."

* * *

Naruto appeared right when the Jounin and some Genin were taking down some of the sound ninja's. The sound ninja turned their attention to the blonde who already had his blade out, the blonde tilted his head, "There's a lot of you…oh well." he killed the first three in front of him before moving on to the others that were near the Genin wasting no time in ending their lives without any sort of remorse what-so-ever. He jumped in the air sensing two enemies tried to get him from behind before taking their heads clean off. Moving on he stabbed one in the chest before moving onto the other taking off their arms, legs and just plain cutting them in half. The last one was near Kakashi, having moved around the Jounin he cut the last one in half hearing a sickening sound before the body fell to the ground. With a sigh Naruto put his blade away, "That's that I guess."

The Genin and Jounin around him were left flabbergasted at the fact the blonde Genin killed the sound ninja near them without hesitation and didn't even look tired. The Genin didn't know what to feel seeing the person they went to the Academy with kill with a calm expression on his face as though it didn't bother him.

Naruto made a familiar hand sign, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu)." Multiple shadow clones appeared all around making more Jounin's jaws hit the ground all wondering the same thing.

 _'_ _How the hell does he have all that chakra to create this many shadow clones?!'_

"Group one help the civilians get to the shelters, Group two got help keep the enemies away from the hospital, Group three go to the Academy and assist the instructors there, and for the last group…if you encounter any enemies kill them." Naruto ordered.

The clones saluted all replying at once, **"YES, BOSS!"** and with that they did what they were ordered to do.

Naruto sighed wondering what he should do next, luckily Kurama helped him with that.

 ** _"_** ** _Naruto, Gaara and his siblings have already left the area, go after them!" Kurama informed him._**

 _'_ _Direct me where to go!'_

Having received directions from Kurama Naruto took off after the sand siblings not caring that Genma had prevented Baki from stopping and he ignored Sasuke's calls. He had a really bad feeling about this! He had to get to Gaara and now!

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out.

Shikamaru, Shino, and Hinata appeared followed by Omoi and Yugito. Killer Bee stood up, "Yugito go to Nine-O and do your thing, fool, ya fool!"

Yugito nodded and took off in the same direction Naruto did.

"Omoi assist!" Bee ordered.

"Understood." Omoi said.

"Asuma-sensei, with permission I'd like to go after Naruto." Shikamaru said.

"Me as well." Shino said.

"Me too!" Hinata volunteered.

Kiba stood up from his seat, the image of Naruto killing those guys still in his mind but right now that wasn't important, "I'm going, too!"

"I'd like to go, too!" Choji didn't hesitate to go.

"Gai-sensei, please allow me to assist Naruto Uzumaki in going after those Suna shinobi." Neji requested.

"I'm going too!" Tenten declared.

Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai couldn't help but feel pride for their students as they each volunteered to go after Naruto and help him. The Will of Fire burns brightly.

"Permission granted!" Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai allowed.

They didn't need to be told twice as all of them went after their classmate to help him out. Sasuke wasn't in the same area anymore so that could only mean he went after the blonde too. This was their home and they'd defend it without fail, and besides…they needed to show the blonde he wasn't alone anymore and that he can rely on other to help him out whenever he needs it.

For that is the Will of Fire!

* * *

 **Next Time: Birth of a Legend**


	12. Birth of a Legend

Here's the chapter! I think I'll type my stories on my iPad from now on, I run into less problems that way. Yep, I'll do just that! Thank you iPad!

* * *

Naruto killed more Oto ninja's as some tried to kidnap him and take him to Orochimaru, which he wasn't particularly interested in doing thank you very much. Having cut down the Oto ninja back at the arena he could feel the emotions of everyone there, from his teammates to his sensei, and everyone else. His classmates were honestly surprised that he took the lives of enemy shinobi and wasn't expecting it-hell they probably weren't expecting to be invaded either but they are. If there was one thing Yamato taught him is that hesitating in battle is a sure way to die a lot quicker and he took it to heart. There's a chance his classmates are shinobi and like it or not they have to kill whoever invades the village and those who live within it.

He snorted, _'I sound like a Jounin.'_

 ** _"_** ** _Naruto, focus on the task at hand. Don't get distracted by useless thoughts."_** _ **Kurama told him.**_

 ** _"_** ** _Kurama's right, there are enemies everywhere. You don't have time to reflect on hos your classmates feel about you killing for the first time. Focus on finding Gaara." Gyūki agreed._**

 _'_ _I will, wait a minute!'_ Naruto stopped suddenly sensing an individual was blocking his path, _'Who…?'_

The individual before him had pale skin, vivid green eyes, masculine facial features, two scarlet dots on his forehead and shoulder-length white hair, which he wore divided down the middle on his head (distinguished by an atypical 'zigzag' hair parting) with two separate partings on either side of his face. The male also wore a light lavender, loose-fitting, long-sleeved, zip-up shirt, black pants cut off around mid-calf, bandages wrapped around his ankles, traditional shinobi sandals, and a purple, rope-like belt tied in an inverted bow around his waist. He also wore two red, tube-like hair ornaments; one on either side of his head, securing two locks of his silvery-white hair.

Naruto sensed he was far stronger than the rest of the sound shinobi he killed, meaning this guy has to be about Chunin or Jounin level. Great.

"So…you are Naruto Uzumaki. The chosen two of Orochimaru-sama." The male spoke softly yet confidently.

The hair's on the back of Naruto's neck lifted slightly signaling him just how dangerous the person before him was, not only that but his senses were telling him the same thing.

"So he's been talking about me and Sasuke, huh? Too bad I have no interest in joining Orochimaru, will you relay that message for me?" Naruto asked politely.

"I have no intention of passing on that message for you will come willingly." The man stated.

"You sound sure of that don't you, what's your name?"

"Kimimaro Kaguya." Kimimaro introduced himself.

Kurama and Gyūki were silent as the male said his full name, Kimimaro Kaguya. His last name was what got their attention not finding that to be a coincidence.

 ** _"_** ** _Naruto, be careful with this one." Kurama warned._**

 ** _"_** ** _He'll be a difficult opponent." Gyūki said._**

 _'_ _I kind of figured that out on my own thanks.'_ Naruto was about to reach for his blade when his senses went off again and it felt familiar. He relaxed his stance.

"Are you not going to draw your sword?" Kimimaro inquired.

"There's no need for me to." Naruto told him.

Two familiar individuals dropped to the ground staring intently at Kimimaro ready to get the fighting started. They were Haruto and Kagura.

"You two got here quick, where were you the whole time anyway?" Naruto questioned.

"My apologies but I'm afraid we ran into some…problems on our way over here." Haruto explained.

Kagura smiled, "Don't worry Naruto-sama, we've dealt with them."

"I don't doubt that, sorry but do you think the two of you could deal with this guy?" Naruto asked.

"Leave this man to us, Naruto-sama." Haruto said.

Kagura looked eager to fight.

"Thanks, be careful." Naruto warned before taking off again after Gaara and his siblings. Kimimaro was about to follow but Haruto stopped him dead in his tracks sending a punch his way but the white haired male blocked it with his arm and was surprised when he was sent flying backwards. Skidding to a stop he stared at the two analyzing them carefully.

"I see. You are the ones that fought Orochimaru-sama and survived." Kimimaro said.

"Survived? That foolish little snake ran away from us right before we were about to finish him off." Kagura smiled innocently.

"That's right, we will not let that fool do anything to Naruto-sama." Haruto stated boldly, "If you wish to fight us then I suggest you not hold back…Kaguya."

Kimimaro said nothing as he took out a bone from his shoulder pointing it at them, "Very well."

It was silent for a minute as they stared into each other's eyes. The wind moved their hair and the leaves below them began to clear a path as if sensing the destructive battle that was about to occur. As the last leaf was out of sight all three moved.

The battle has started.

 **Clone Unit #1**

Naruto clones were everywhere as they found civilians and brought them to the shelter, which was inside the Hokage tower. The clones said nothing as they simply did their job as get the civilians out of the way, most of them were tempted to just leave them out in the battlefield and leave them to their fate but an order was an order. Some may not know it but unlike other Shadow clone's Naruto's were special. While true that Shadow clones are sentient and act independently from the original, the blonde ninja's clones are not only sentient but feel emotions not just from themselves but from the original Naruto too. As the clones were placing the civilians inside the Hokage tower they began talking to themselves as they guarded the entrance.

"I can't believe the boss is actually ordering us to help these _ingrates_." Clone #1 expressed his displeasure.

Clone #2 sighed, "I understand how you feel but orders are orders."

"Tch."

"There's no point in complaining about it now." Clone #3 said walking over to them with Clone #4, #5, and #6.

"I know, I know that but…I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE BOSS!" Clone #1 declared with a worried expression.

"Oh, for the love of-! The boss isn't weak you idiot he can take care of himself!" Clone #5 yelled.

"I can still be worried can't I?!" Clone #1 yelled back.

"I'm not saying you can't but your acting like a mother hen its annoying!" Clone #5 yelled back.

"Shut up! I don't wanna hear that from a clone!"

"You're a clone too, dumbass!"

"What was that?!"

Clone #2, #3, #4, and #6 ignored the two idiots as they talked amongst themselves, "It won't be long before those sound and sand shinobi find this place. We need to stay here and eliminate any enemies that might try to infiltrate this hideout." Clone #4 said.

"We'll just have to make sure they don't get in here then," Clone #6 stated crossing his arms, "Remember, boss gave us specific orders to make sure the civilians got here to the shelter. What we need to do now is help him in any way we can."

Clone #2, #3 and 4 nodded in agreement. The original needed them to do their job right now despite their individual feelings towards the civilians of Konoha.

"Stop being stupid and calm down already!" Clone #5 yelled.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

The four clones not invested in the pointless argument sighed at the two idiots that just wouldn't shut up.

"Should we stop them?" Clone #3 wondered.

"Might as well, boss does need all of us to do our part and we can't let these idiots dispel each other." Clone #2 sighed.

"Darn." Clone #6 said.

 **Clone Unit #2**

"Argh!" A sand shinobi said painfully as he fell to the ground lying dead in a pool of his own blood curtesy of one of Naruto's clones.

The second unit was currently in front of the hospital keeping the enemies at bay, preventing them from trying to go inside and killing everyone. So far they were doing well because while the sand shinobi were very skilled, the sound shinobi weren't all that much of a problem. The clones were using Fūton (Wind Style) jutsu's but they made sure it wouldn't put too much strain on the original and used just enough to distract the invaders for a bit before they finished them off.

"They just keep on coming, like a bunch of ants." Clone #7 complained slitting a sound ninja's throat.

"There's no telling how many Oto and Suna ninja are invading us right now and it doesn't matter either," Clone #8 said ducking under an Oto ninja's fist before stabbing the male in the chest.

"Don't stop! We need to make sure they don't get inside this hospital!" Clone #9 told them as he killed another Suna ninja.

"Shouldn't we go inside and make sure Ishida-sensei is okay?" Clone #10 asked sounding worried.

"There's no need for that." Ishida appeared out of the hospital holding what appeared to be syringes in both hands smiling innocently.

"Ishida-sensei! What are you doing out here?!" Clone #10 exclaimed.

Ishida raised a brow, "Did I not tell you? Before becoming a doctor I used to be a shinobi, but decided to resign and pursue a medical career." As if to prove his point the man threw the syringes in his hands aiming right for the Oto and Suna ninja's necks getting a perfect aim as they fell to the ground dead.

The clones blinked, "What did you inject them with?" Clone #8 asked carefully.

"A rare poison I keep in my lab," Ishida shrugged as he pulled out more from his pocket, "I made it."

"I wonder what the boss would say in this kind of situation?" Clone # 7 wondered.

"Damn…" Clone #9 said.

"Close, but I don't think that's what he would say in a situation like this." Clone #7 said dryly.

Ishida chuckled, "Where is the original Naruto anyway?"

"Boss went after Gaara Sabaku, container of the Ichibi and Sunagakure's Jinchūriki." Clone #7 reported.

Ishida looked worried but understood, "I see…I believe he can handle the boy, but I'm still worried. Hopefully he'll be careful." He said noticing how some Konoha shinobi were helping he rest of the Naruto clones deal with some Oto and Suna ninja that were trying to overcome the clones. The man raised a brow, well that was interesting. Konoha's shinobi were actually trying to help Naruto's clones even going so far as to protect them from getting hit. Interesting.

"Ready to fight side by side with a doctor?" Ishida got a dangerous glint in his eye.

"The more the merrier." Clone #7 shrugged.

 **Clone Unit #3**

Iruka stared in appreciation as Naruto's clones held back the Oto and Suna shinobi that were trying to get in the Academy. He and the rest of the Instructors were keeping both sides at bay but that can only last for so long, especially since the instructors were starting to get tired from using up too much Doton (Earth Style) jutsu's to try and keep them from coming through the barrier. Once he saw Naruto's clones appear, some of them had broken off into four groups from what he can tell and the group of four that was with them were in charge of keeping the teachers and students safe.

Clone #11 sighed as he tossed a special tag down at an Oto ninja's feet, "Fūton: Torappu (Wind Style: Trap)." A tornado of wind was unleashed getting three of the Oto ninja, allowing another clone to kill off the three Oto ninja trapped within the whirlwind.

"Damn pests," Clone #12 growled, "I'm getting real tired of this!"

"Deal with it." Clone #13 deadpanned flashing through hand signs, Dog → Horse → Bird: "Fūton: Toppa (Wind Style: Breakthrough)!" gathering chakra in his stomach the clone sent a gust of wind towards the Suna ninja that were trying to break through the blockade allowing Clone #14 to deal with the three shinobi.

Clone #14 used a Henge on the kunai in hand transforming it into the very same blade at the original Naruto cutting the Suna shinobi down without hesitation, "More just keep on coming."

"That's fine, remember we need to make sure they don't get passed the blockade." Clone #11 reminded.

"We got it, boss's orders right?" Clone #13 said.

"Yeah." Clone #11 confirmed.

Clone #12 looked over at Iruka, "Iruka-sensei, you need to stay out of the battle. Chunin or not we can't afford to let anything happen you or the kids."

Iruka smiled, "I appreciate your concern but I'm also a shinobi and it's my duty to protect the children here along with my comrades."

"Stubborn." Clone #11 snorted with a smile.

"I learned that from Naruto." Iruka gave a cheeky smile as he prepared to fight alongside his student's shadow clones. They would protect Konoha for it was their home!

 **Clone Unit Last Group**

Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake: "Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)!" one of the clones performed a wind jutsu that sent some Suna and Oto ninja's flying making them slam into buildings hard enough to kill them.

Ibiki smirked seeing the hundreds of Naruto clones slaughter Suna and Oto shinobi without a hint of hesitation, hell the kid's clones were firing wind and water jutsu's all over the place.

 _'_ _The kid can count on a promotion after this.'_ He thought seeing one of Orochimaru's snakes summons slithering its way over here but was more focused on the more hordes of Suna and Oto shinobi coming their way, Boar → Dog → Bird → Tiger: "Kuchiyose: Aian Meiden (Summoning: Iron Maiden)!" he summoned giant iron maneki neko, which appears beneath the Suna and Oto shinobi from underground, split down the middle. The statue clamped around them wrapping them in chains, which dragged them back down into the ground.

Ibiki sighed then noticed a Naruto clone smirking at him, Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram: "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)!" a large cloud of white smoke surrounded the area before fading slowly revealing a huge toad, though like Gamabunta his size is depicted inconsistently; he is generally shown to be taller than buildings and trees. He has an aquamarine skin tone and yellow eyes with grey markings around them and two distinct, circular markings on his shoulders. He also carries two huge katana's on his back, which are his main weapons with an orange sash around his stomach.

All the shinobi present draws drop at the sight of one of the toad summons that everyone knew belonged to Jiraiya, the fact that Naruto has the summoning contract as well means that the toad sage chose the blonde as his apprentice.

"Go, Gamahiro!" the clone ordered.

Gamahiro said nothing as he grabbed both swords and charged at the snake summons slicing them to pieces without hesitation, showing them no mercy he tore through them like cattle. The Suna and Oto shinobi within his path were stomped on like ants as they got in his way, the rest of the Konoha shinobi gave a war cry as they followed the toad's example and charged at the Suna and Oto shinobi.

Ibiki glanced at the clone who kept its smirk, "Toads stomp on them like ants, isn't it fitting?" the clone said.

Ibiki took a smoke from his cigarette, "Kid…I seriously think you should transfer to Torture and Interrogation."

The clone shrugged, "If the boss feels like it, he'll let you know."

Ibiki took a puff, "Suit yourself."

* * *

Meanwhile, while Naruto's clones were busy taking care of the Suna and Oto shinobi, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and A were going up against Orochimaru.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Look at this, Sarutobi-sensei and Jiraiya. All we need is Tsunade and the reunion will be complete."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at his former student, "Orochimaru, I'm going to do what I should have done years ago."

The snake Sannin laughed, "Let me go like you did last time?"

"No…this time I will end your life." Hiruzen declared.

Jiraiya cracked his knuckles, "I wouldn't mind getting in a few hits myself old man."

A took off his robe, "Since I'm already here I might as well lend you a hand."

"You have my thanks Jiraiya, Raikage." Hiruzen thanked.

Orochimaru and Hiruzen had a stare down as the wind blew wildly and the atmosphere became tense. As soon as the wind stopped blowing they charged, with Hiruzen performing hand signs, Tiger → Dragon → Rat → Horse → Tiger: "Ninpō: Kawara Shuriken (Ninja Art: Tile Shuriken)!" Hiruzen remotely controls, levitate and hurl spinning tiles towards the snake sannin.

Orochimaru jumped in the air, "Not good enough! Sen'ei Jashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!" his tongue transformed into a snake and it lunged at Hiruzen but Jiraiya was already on it.

Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger: "Katon: Endan (Fire Style: Flam Bomb)!" Jiraiya gathered oil in his mouth and shot a ball of flame at the snake.

A teleported behind Orochimaru covered in lightning cased chakra, "Girochin Doroppu (Guillotine Drop)!" A did a downwards kick, knocking Orochimaru down to the ground watching as he fell down like a bullet crashing into the tiles below. He appeared right next to Jiraiya, "That get him?"

"Hardly, this guys too stubborn to die." Jiraiya snorted.

"Indeed." Hiruzen agreed as the saw Orochimaru stand up slowly through the smoke that soon cleared.

Orochimaru laughed, "Impressive, I expected no less from you Raikage!"

"Keh! Like I'm here to impress you, snake!" A snarled back.

Hiruzen made the Tiger hand sign: "Doton: Doryū Taiga (Earth Style: Great Mud River)!" transforming the surface underneath Orochimaru's feet he watched as the man was carried down stream, Hiruzen wasn't done though, Ram → Horse → Dragon: "Doton: Doryūdan (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb)!" he created a dragon like head to shoot mud balls at Orochimaru. Hiruzen still wasn't done though, Tiger: "Katon: Karyūdan (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bomb)!" Hiruzen exhales a flame breath from his mouth igniting projectiles at Orochimaru. Jiraiya and A both watched as Orochimaru was burned by the flame and washed away by the mud.

"Hmph, looks like I was wrong about the man. He's not as peace loving as I thought he'd be." A commented.

"Yeah, the old man hasn't changed." Jiraiya agreed as he spotted movement from the tile.

A chuckle gave them a warning, "Very nice…" he complimented coming completely out of the tiles, "Really, I've been grossly underestimated. Did you think you could kill me with just that level of jutsu? Isn't it about time we stopped playing around? This isn't an Academy class, so…"

Hiruzen hummed, "You have a point." He tossed his hat and robes in the air.

"Did you foresee your final moments?" Orochimaru said.

Hiruzen was now wearing a black jumpsuit, mesh segments over the lower portions of his limbs, and a green gauntlet that covered much of his right arm. He also wore an armored hood with a bandanna-like forehead protector over this, tied with two long straps.

Jiraiya smirked, "Old man just got serious."

"About time." A grunted.

Orochimaru also shed his fake Kazekage rob in favor of his traditional Oto shinobi robes. The atmosphere was thick and heavy as their killing intent was enough to shake the tiles into lifting off the ground.

"I won't go easy on you just because you're doddering." Orochimaru smirked.

"I look forward to it." Hiruzen countered.

And like a speeding bullet they were off.

* * *

Naruto could sense he was close to Gaara's location provided he wasn't stopped by anyone else, _'I'm getting close.'_

 ** _"_** ** _Naruto, I think one of the brats siblings is up ahead." Kurama warned._**

 ** _Gyūki saw it was the puppet user, "The puppet user, huh?"_**

Naruto stopped, standing on a tree branch, "So you stayed behind to stop me, huh?"

Kankuro didn't want to go up against the blonde shinobi knowing it could only take one swing of this kids blade and he'd be dead. But, he volunteered so he might as well do what he can to buy Temari some time in letting Gaara escape. Taking Crow off his back he slammed it down on the tree branch he was standing on, "Sorry, but it looks like I'll be your opponent instead."

Naruto didn't even bother to pull his blade out sensing familiar chakra signatures coming right towards him, "Really…they didn't have to come here too."

Kankuro raised a brow wondering what the hell the kid was talking about when it suddenly clicked as he saw two of the Genin from the Chūnin Exams show up beside the blonde making the situation even more complicated.

Naruto sighed, "Why are you two here? More importantly, how did you know where to find me..." he trailed off then deadpanned, "Beetle?"

"A female one, the male beetle tracked her scent and here we are. We are here to provide assistance." Shino stated.

Naruto frowned, "You don't have to…"

"But we want to," Shino interjected, "There is no point in arguing about this, Naruto."

Hinata gave Naruto a pleading glance making him unable to say 'no' but there was something else he was curious about, "Where are the others?"

"They stayed behind to deal with some Oto shinobi that were following you, while Sasuke and Sakura went off after Gaara," Shino informed standing before the blonde as if blocking his view from Kankuro, "I was robbed of having to fight him during the tournament, therefore I would like to fight him now."

"I'll give Shino support, for now go after Gaara, Naruto-kun." Hinata assured him with a smile, her Byakugan active.

Naruto still wasn't sure but relented anyway, "You guys are just too damn stubborn you know that? All yours." He took off leaving the two of them to deal with Kankuro as he went after Gaara and Temari.

"Now then…" Shino removed both hands from his pockets revealing insects, "Shall we begin?"

Hinata got into her Jūken stance ready to give her friend support.

Kankuro smirked, "Let's get this party started."

* * *

Hiruzen made hand signs as did Orochimaru, Ox → Dog → Dragon → Rat → Dog → Boar → Snake → Tiger: "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" what was once four shuriken now became more than one as they shot off towards the snake sannin.

Orochimaru did hand signs that looked familiar to Jiraiya, Tiger → Snake → Dog → Dragon → Clap hands: "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation)!" two coffins emerged from the ground.

A narrowed his eyes, "What kind of jutsu is this?"

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation)," Jiraiya said, "Bastard intends to bring the dead to life and join the fight."

"What kind of sick people are you raising in this village?!" A exclaimed.

"Heh, got me. I'm one of the good ones." Jiraiya joked.

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as he saw a third one pop up, "I must stop the third one at any cost…!" as the shuriken's hit the coffins Hiruzen was able to prevent the third one from rising.

Orochimaru smirked, _'It looks like the third one was no good. Oh well…'_ the coffins opened slowly.

"He summoned those two of all people…" Hiruzen said.

The coffins opened fully revealing the bodies of the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage, just like Hiruzen figured. Jiraiya clenched his teeth and fists while A held his ground, "Those two…if I'm not mistaken."

"They're the Shodaime-Hashirama Senju and Nidaime-Tobirama Senju." Jiraiya informed.

"Yeah, I figured." A said.

Orochimaru placed a kunai with a red tag on it through within the Shodaime's head, doing the same thing to the Nidaime as Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and A could do nothing but watch. The snake sannin stepped back as both the Shodaime and Nidaime moved towards the three.

"I've got the Nidaime!" A volunteered charging at the Nidaime that ran on the rooftop above them.

Jiraiya got ready for the Shodaime, "Looks like you and me get the Shodaime then, old man."

"I know." Hiruzen said as he engaged in a taijutsu battle with the Hashirama Senju while the Raikage dealt with the Nidaime. Jiraiya then got into the mix, while A was doing the same with the Tobirama.

Ram → Horse → Snake → Dragon → Rat → Ox → Tiger: "Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb)!" Hiruzen exhaled sending a torrent of flames towards Hashirama.

Snake → Dragon → Rabbit → Tiger: "Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu)!" Jiraiya breathed fire along a cord heading straight for Hashirama watching as the flames engulfed him.

A meanwhile was still having a taijutsu battle with the Nidaime before he got some distance before getting serious. He lifted up the Nidaime, "Raigā Bomu (Liger Bomb)!" lifting him high up in the air then smashed him head first into the ground.

The smoke cleared as both fire jutsu's reached and engulfed Hashirama, as the smoke cleared Hiruzen and Jiraiya saw he was relatively unharmed. As A backed away from the Nidaime he saw as the Edo Tensei version of the man appeared to be fine too as he got up slowly his wounds disappearing but slower than Hashirama's.

"Should've known a double fire jutsu wouldn't be able to take him down." Jiraiya said nervously.

"Looks that way." Hiruzen said eyeing the Nidaime, "The Raikage looks like he's holding up just fine."

"Good for him, but not so much for us." Jiraiya said.

Meanwhile outside the barrier all of the Jounin were taking down the rest of the Suna and Oto ninja with Kumo helping out, slowly but surely their numbers were dwindling and Naruto's shadow clones were helping out too.

"YEAH!" Killer Bee shouted as he took down more Oto shinobi with his blades.

Kakashi and Gai were back to back as they took down more enemies, "50 for me, what about you Gai?"

Gai grinned, "I have 60!"

"Mm."

Zabuza hefted his blade over his shoulder, "69!"

Haku smiled having just finished off another Oto ninja, "Nicely done, Zabuza-sama."

Kurenai sighed as three Oto shinobi fell to the ground lifeless, "I can't tell if their numbers are dwindling or not."

"Who knows?" Asuma said wiping some blood off his blade.

Yamato kept some prisoned with his Mokuton, he then turned his attention towards the purple barrier up above with a frown, "Hopefully Jiraiya-sama and Raikage-sama are enough to handle what's going on in there."

"Yo! Brother strong, not going down without a fight, fool ya fool!" Bee rapped.

Yamato sweat-dropped, "Right…"

Back up at the tower Darui and Shi were observing the battle that was going on inside the purple dome. Their Raikage told them not to interfere and to simply help out with the invasion, after killing some Suna and Oto shinobi with ease they headed back up towards the tower and decided to observe the battle rom within the dome. They would wait until the battle was over because they have faith in their Raikage, Jiraiya, and the Hokage.

* * *

"I can sense them! They're close!" Naruto said as he jumped from branch to branch before he stopped, "What is this…?" he sensed something malicious and borderline insane, "Is this..."

 ** _"_** ** _Shukaku…just what happened to him in Sunagakure for him to turn out like this?" Gyūki wondered._**

 ** _"_** ** _Beats me, wait I think I sense…" Kurama trailed off._**

"Naruto-san." Yugito appeared taking him by surprise.

"You! You're with Killer Bee-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Killer Bee-sensei asked me to assist you in any way I can, also Matatabi wanted me to do this." She placed a hand on his stomach slowly transferring some of Matatabi's chakra making his eyes widen.

"You..." Naruto didn't know what to say.

Yugito smiled, "Matatabi says that since Gyūki trusts you then so will she, use her chakra well."

Naruto felt the tingling sensation stop, then heard another voice but a lot more feminine.

 ** _"_** ** _My, its been a long time, Kurama, Gyūki." Matatabi greeted._**

 ** _"_** ** _You look good, Matatabi." Gyūki said._**

 ** _Kurama looked away, "Yeah, yeah, nice to see you too." He greeted sarcastically._**

 ** _Matatabi giggled, "Well now, looks like being sealed inside this boy has made you softer."_**

 ** _Kurama scoffed._**

 ** _Gyūki snickered._**

Naruto sighed, "Matatabi seems like the teasing type."

"She has her moments." Yugito confirmed her eyes drifting over to Gaara's half Biju form, "Now then, we have Shukaku's host to deal with."

Naruto gripped his blade, "I can sense Sasuke and Sakura, I'll get them to safety then confront Gaara."

"Would you like assistance?" Yugito asked.

"That would be helpful thank." Naruto said as he appeared before Sasuke sensing something was wrong, _'I can feel that dark chakra again. Must have something to do with the curse mark.'_

"UZUMAKI!"

Naruto brought his attention to Gaara, he couldn't see him but he felt the red heads chakra had increased from what it once was.

 _'_ _Hey guys, can you describe what's going on with Gaara.'_ Naruto asked.

 **"** ** _His whole body is covered in sand, but I feel Shukaku's chakra mixed in with it. He looks like a mini-Shukaku." Gyūki explained._**

 ** _"_** ** _Damn brat's still in control but he'll lose it soon." Kurama eyed Gaara._**

 ** _"_** ** _Shukaku...what happened to make you this way?" Matatabi expressed her sadness._**

Naruto unsheathed his blade, _'Me and Yugito will handle Gaara together, but if he gets too out of control I'll deal with him myself.'_ There was a grunt behind him, _'Sasuke must be conscious then, but he probably can't move.'_

"S-Stay back...I can handle him...!" Sasuke grunted as he forced himself to stand.

"You can barely stand, so no you can't handle him alone." Naruto stated, "Me and Yugito will handle Gaara, where's Sakura?"

Sasuke grunted again, "Trapped in his claw...she passed out as soon as she slammed into the tree..."

 _'_ _She must've been trying to help Sasuke. First time she's tried to protect him all on her own.'_ He thought.

"Stay here." Naruto said jumping down from a branch, "Let's do this, Yugito-san!"

"I'm ready to assist you in any way I can!" Yugito was right by side.

Gaara charged at the two sending his giant claw at them, but Yugito was faster, "Byōen Hōka (Cat Flame Roaring Flame)!" She sent a giant fireball at the boy watching as his body was covered in flames and had to dodge out of the way quickly to avoid his claw from hitting her. Landing on another tree branch she stared at Gaara, _'Even though his body was covered in flames he only got off with slight burns.'_

Naruto created a shadow clone giving it his blade, "Hold that until I say I need it."

"Got it, boss." The clone said, "Don't over do it."

Naruto's limped twitched in amusement, "I won't." He assured. Gaara's bloodlust was increasing making his senses go haywire again, just like with Zabuza. Taking a deep breath he prepared himself, "Kurama...are you ready?"

 ** _Kurama smirked, "Heh, show Shukaku your stronger than his host!"_**

 ** _Gyūki chuckled, "This should be interesting."_**

 ** _Matatabi smiled, "Do your best, kitten."_**

Naruto closed his eyes before he was surrounded in Kurama's chakra cloak, opening his eyes back up he got ready to fight his fellow Jinchūriki, "Come, Gaara!"

Gaara's malicious grin grew wider, "THAT'S IT! THAT POWER! MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE!"

"He's coming!" Yugito announced.

"I know!"

"Fūton: Renkūdan (Wind Stye: Drilling Air Bullet)!" Gaara took a deep breath before shooting a highly compressed air ball from his mouth.

Bird → Hare → Serpent: "Mokuton: Jukai Heki (Wood Style: Tree Wall Barrier)! Countless wooden branches emerged from the ground preventing the wind jutsu from reaching Naruto. He sensed Gaara was above him about to punch him with his clawed arm, but Naruto was waiting for that opportunity. With a smirk he used a new jutsu that he'd been working on, "Rasenkyūgan (Absorption Rasengan)!" Using his chakra arms he formed a big rasengan in his hand, then used his other arms to grab Gaara and smash the jutsu into him sending him backwards giving Yugito an opening.

"Yugito-san!" Naruto called out.

"Already on it!" Yugito transformed her arm into Matatabi's claw and attacked, "Daibyō Sōgeki (Great Cat Claw)!" She delivered a solid hit with her right claw sending Gaara flying.

Gaara readjusted himself and counterattcked, "Fūton: Mugen Sajin — Daitoppa (Infinite Sand Cloud — Great Breakthrough)!" Inhaling air from his mouth and all over his body, and blows it out along with a chakra-coated sand cloud.

Rat → Dog → Tiger: "Mokuton: Mokujōheki (Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu)!" A wood dome appeared protecting Naruto as he felt the wind jutsu slam into his dome making cracks appear but it didn't fall apart.

 _'_ _That was a strong Fūton jutsu, but then again I shouldn't be surprised.'_ Naruto thought as he had a part of the dome go down seeing Gaara coming at him again, "My turn now," Clap hands together: "Mokuton: Hotei no Jutsu (Wood Style: Laughing Buddha Jutsu)!" Hands erupted from the ground grabbing Gaara's arms and legs preventing him from reaching Naruto, he struggled but found he was unable to break free no matter how hard he struggled, "Your turn!" He was talking about Yugito.

Yugito wasted no time, "Byōen Hōka (Cat Flame Roaring Flame)!" she sent another giant fireball at Gaara's helpless form watching as the flames consumed him once again, but this time screams were heard.

Yugito appeared next to the blonde, "How much chakra do you have left?"

"Enough to fight some more, Kurama will lend me a hand in case I get too tired." Naruto said.

"I see." She said.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was watching the whole thing and couldn't undersatand how Naruto could have all this power? Before the blonde showed up he was barely able to handle Gaara himself, then his curse mark started acting up leaving him incapacitated. And to make things worse, Sakura stood in between them clutching a kunai in her hand only to be slammed into a tree.

 _'_ _How...'_ he clenched his teeth, _'How can he be this strong?!'_

Naruto's senses went off again, "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Yugito questioned.

 ** _"_** ** _Kitten."_**

 _"_ _Matatabi, what are you sensing?"_ Yugito asked.

 ** _"_** ** _Shukaku's consciousness is stirring, both of you be prepared." Matatabi warned._**

 _"_ _I will."_ Yugito said.

 ** _"_** ** _Naruto...I sense Shukaku's about to awaken." Kurama warned._**

 _"_ _I can tell...I'm gonna have to use your full form in that case."_ Naruto said.

 ** _Kurama grinned, "Sounds good to me."_**

The smoke cleared revealing a grinning Gaara making them both nervous, was he going to do it? Awaken Shukaku? Judging by that smirk the answer would be...yes.

Gaara made the Ram hand sign, "Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (Playing Possum Jutsu)!" He forced himself to go asleep.

And was then that they knew things would go to hell.

 **With Shino, Hinata, and Kankuro**

There was an epic stare down between Shino, Hinata, and Kankuro. It was already decided Hinata would provide backup, while Shino took the offense.

Kankuro clapped both hands together, _'Kugutsu no Jutsu (Puppet Master Jutsu).'_

Shino got into position as Kankuro revealed his puppet once again, hinata already had her Byakugan active ready to assist in anyway she could. Shino's bugs were ready to attack, Hinata was ready, and Kankuro was ready to sick his puppet on them.

"I am a member of Konohagakure no Sato's Aburame Ichizoku," Shino introduced, "When we fight, no matter how puny our opponent is...we don't mock them. We face them at full strength."

"I am a member of Konohagakure no Sato's Hyūga Ichizoku," Hinata introduced this time, "I face my opponent with confidence and full strength, never holding back."

Kankuro scoffed, "Bring it on."

All three got into position, the first to attack was Kankuro who sent his puppet at Shino.

Hinata intervened, "Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Air Palm)!" She sent a compressed air palm towards the puppet sending it flying back towards Kankuro, "Be careful, Shino."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw it, for a split second I saw it...poison." Hinata told him.

Shino got the picture, "I see, then its a good thing you reacted when you did."

She nodded, "I'll try and see if I can give you an opening, when you see it, attack."

"Right."

Kankuro sent his puppet at them again but Hinata intercepted it using her gentle fist making sure not to get hit with the poison laced in the blade hidden inside the puppet, _'I was right, the blade's tipped with poison,'_ she got some distance between herself and the puppet, _'Not only that, but he can use it as both an offense and defense. Getting close to him will be difficult.'_

Kankuro smirked, "Not bad."

Hinata threw two kunai's at the puppet only for it to dissapear and a log took its place making her eyes widen, _'Kawarimi?!'_ She sensed the puppet was behind her and reacted, "Jūkenhō Ōgi: Kaiten (Gentle Fist Secret Art: Palm Rotation)!" Spinning around a purple dome surrounded her preventing the puppet from getting close and sending it away from her, _'That was close!'_ She stopped the rotation.

Kankuro tsked, _'She's quick on her feet,'_ he eyed Shino, _'Waiting for an opening, huh? Well, that's not gonna happen.'_ He sent the puppet after Shino this time making Hinata's eyes widen, "Shino!"

 _'_ _Too late!'_ Kankuro smirked as he made the puppet send two needles at the Aburame getting him in the head and chest, _'Got him.'_ The smirk was soon wiped off his face as he saw the boy disintegrate into bugs, _'Those damn bugs again!'_ Looking to his right he saw Shino was right next to him about to punch him in the face but he ducked down in time and jumped away.

"You made a clone out of bugs, then snuck up behind me, not too bad." Kankuro complimented.

"It was simple really, I can tell from your jutsu that your strength is long range attacks, not close combat," Shino observed as Hinata landed next to him, "Furthermore, you have to focus your chakra and attention into manipulating that puppet of yours, and that of course leaves an opening in your defenses."

"Thanks for the dissertation, but I'm just getting started here. Don't worry, if you really wanna see how deadly my ninjutsu can be then your in for a real treat." Kankuro said moving the puppet again, "You haven't seen half of what Crow can do, so far he's been playing nice!" Opening the puppet's arm something shot out of it.

Hinata got in front of Shino again, "Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Air Palm)!" She sent another air palm at the object sending it in the middle to go off noticing purple smoke she covered her mouth, "Poison Smoke Bomb!" She and Shino jumped back as the purple cloud came near them.

Shino used his sleeve to cover his lower face, "Using a poison smoke bomb he can use it to conceal himself, while still being able to use it as an advantage in attacking us because we can't see."

 _'_ _I'll use that move again, but I need to be careful and not overdo it,'_ she thought, "Jūkenhō Ōgi: Kaiten (Gentle Fist Secret Art: Palm Rotation)!" She spun in the opposite direction hoping the smoke would drift away from them and it did thankfully. The two teammates jumped up away from the smoke, standing on a higher branch, Shino wobbled a little and got down on one knee.

"Shino, are you okay?!" Hinata crouched down.

"Must've inhaled some," he wheezed, "Meanwhile, he hides waiting for the poison to take effect."

Hinata surveyed the area with her Byakugan and found exactly where Kankuro was hiding, "I see him. You're right, he's lying in wait to see how long the poison's effects will take."

Shino kept panting but spoke anyway, "Hinata...I have a plan."

"What is it?" She leaned in closer to hear his plan.

Kankuro was watching them from behind and thought for a second the girl might have spotted him but then shrugged it off, _'The poison's spreading slowly through his system. Now to finish it.'_ He made the puppet creep up behind the two and stabbed them from behind but Shino dissolved into bugs, while Hinata was replaced by a wood log.

 _'_ _What?! More bugs?! And that girl, she used Kawarimi! He shouldn't even be moving with that poison in him!'_ He thought looking around trying to find them, he saw some bug drop from a tree branch and saw Shino with Hinata next to him and smirked, _'Let me put you out of your misery,'_ he tried to move Crow but it wouldn't budge, _'What the? Wh-What's going on?! What the hell's wrong with it?!'_ He then noticed why it wasn't working, there were bugs clogged in, _'No!'_

 _'_ _It's no use, he can't move now. My friends have borrowed into every one of its joints, he's kindling now.'_ Shino thought, his arms covered in insects.

 _'_ _So that's what he was after, he wanted me to attack so he could get his creepy-crawlies to infest Crow's body!'_ Kankuro observed, _'Now they're going after my Chakura no Ito (Chakra Threads)! Why?'_ He then remembered, _'Oh, right. I forgot these things eat chakra.'_ He saw the bugs were getting closer, _'My threads are leading them right to me.'_ He disconnected the threads.

Shino's eyes narrowed, _'He severed his chakra threads himself.'_ He saw as the puppet went limp but then all of a sudden the head went off flying. Shino followed its movements as it come right at him.

Kankuro smirked, _'Hehehe, what a sucker. He doesn't know I can re-establish control over my puppet in a blink of an eye! Its part of what makes me an expert puppet master! And so what if Crow's body is out of commission, I don't need his body! Every part of him is a lethal weapon!'_ he opened Crow's mouth revealing another blade that was tipped with poison, _'Looks like you underestimated me, bug boy...for the last time! There's enough poison on that to drop an elephant, so...your dead!'_ Just as the blade was about to reach him, the head off the puppet stopped dead in its tracks before falling to the ground. Useless.

 _'_ _What the hell?!'_ Kankuro moved up, _'But how?!'_

"You seem to have forgotten that I was here." A female voice said from behind making Kankuro tilt his head slowly in her direction, which was from behind him. He stared right into the Byakugan eyes of none other than Hinata Hyūga.

 _'_ _Shit!'_

"You are in my field now," she got in her stance, "Jūkenpō: Hakke Sanjūni Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms)!"

"Ni Shō (Two Palms)!"

"Yon Shō (Four Palms)!"

"Hachi Shō (Eight Palms)!"

"Jūroku Shō (Sixteen Palms)."

"Sanjūni Shō (Thirty-Two Palms)!"

She hit his tenketsu, sending him flying until his back collided with the tree he was hiding in. He tried to move but froze and looked down when he saw bugs on his hands, _'These bugs! They ate my chakra threads at the source! Now only that, but I forgot the Hyūga girl was here too!'_ He tried to get the bugs off him but he ended up falling on his side instead, "But how, I don't get it?! I was sure to cut the threads before they could find me!"

Hinata was by Shino's side, "And there's your explanation, you were so worried about them approaching from the front that you failed to observe the swarm of beetles coming at you from behind," he panted, "All this time they've been slowly closing in on you, drawn to your headband."

"Huh? To my what?" Kankuro wondered it he'd heard right.

Shino elaborated, "When I swung at you earlier I only pretended to miss, what I really wanted was to plant a beetle on your headband."

Kankuro flashedback to when Shino tried to take a swing at him but he ducked and ended up missing him...or so he thought.

"But, that doesn't explain where the rest of them came from!" Kankuro insisted.

Shino sighed, "I hate having to explain the same thing twice."

Kankuro thought back to how the rest of the bugs showed until he remembered when the blonde was here earlier.

 _Naruto sighed, "Why are you all here? More importantly, how did you know where to find me..." he trailed off then deadpanned, "Beetle?"_

 _"_ _A female one, the male beetle tracked her scent and here we are." Shino stated._

Kankuro's eyes looked up at his headband, "So then...this bug crawling on my forehead..."

"Is a female, yes." Shino confirmed, "I also figured you'd use my somewhat vulnerable situation to try and finish me off that you'd completely forget about Hinata. Once she saw you were distracted, she acted."

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, "You've lost."

Kankuro cried out as he fell off the branch he was on, plummeting to the ground covered in Shino's bugs. Shino's panting got worse but Hinata was by his side, "Shino, try this. Its an anti-poison I've been working on." She gave him a pink liquid to try, which he took grateful and drank its contents.

"How do you feel?"

Shino took a deep breath before his breathing slowly got back to normal, "The poison's still there, but not as much as before. I won't be able to fight anymore."

Hinata smiled, "I've exhausted myself too with two Kaiten's and the Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms. I'm at my limit, too."

Shino sat on the branch instead of on his knees, "Looks like its up to Naruto to finish things..."

"Yes." Hinata agreed silently praying for Naruto's safety, _'Be careful, Naruto-kun...'_

A sudden chakra surge was felt by both of them, looking up they saw what appears to be a giant tanuki.

"What is that...?" Shino stared.

Hinata gripped her chest, _'Naruto-kun!'_

 **With Kagura, Haruto, and Kimimaro**

Kimimaro avoided another hit from Kagura as he moved to attack but was kicked away by Haruto in his side, but aligned himself.

"Impressive...I can understand why Orochimaru-sama had a hard time with you." Kimimaro observed.

"If that is your way of complimenting us then thank you," Haruto thanked, "However, let me give you some advice. If you keep holding back you won't last for very long."

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes, "Holding back?"

"Aren't you?" Kagura teased.

Kimimaro let his robed shirt down, "Very well...if you want to fight me at a higher level, then I'll oblige."

Kagura giggled, "Finally getting serious are we?"

"This should prove to be interesting." Haruto said.

Bones started to protrude from Kimimaro's back and arms, Haruto's eyes narrowed, "I see...Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse)."

"This just got more fun." Kagura smiled in anticipation.

Kimimaro pulled out one of his arm bones, creating a short bone-hilted bone sword. He got into position, "Tsubaki no Mai (Dance of the Camellia)." He started to stab chaotically and continuously at Kagura who simply moved out of the way each time with a calm smile.

 _'_ _Fluid movements, most impressive.'_ She observed twirling around avoiding getting stabbed, "This truly is a dance, isn't it?"

Kimimaro didn't respond and instead analyzed the girl, _'Her movements aren't restricted, they're fluid and clear like water. The way she avoids my bone blade, its almost as if she's dancing. And I'm dancing to her tune.'_ He suddenly blocked a kick with his other arm, seeing it was Haruto he was about to attack him but a foot to the face prevented that, sending him skidding backwards.

Kagura giggled, "Two versus one. Don't get distracted."

Kimimaro got into another stance as they got ready to go at it again when they felt a sudden surge of chakra. Looking in the direction where they sensed it from they saw a giant tanuki emerge from the forest.

 **With the Other Genin**

"Bakuryūgeki (Dragon Bomb)!" Tenten opens one of her scrolls and releases a large flaming dragon that exploded once it came into contact with Oto shinobi.

Shikamaru yawned as he was surrounded by enemies on all sides but before they could do anything they found themselves unable to move making the ponytail haired boy smirk, "Ninpō: Kagemane no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu) successful," he made some hand signs, Dragon → Tiger → Rat: "Ninpō: Kage–Kubishibari no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shadow Strangle Jutsu)." A shadow hand crawled up their bodies and began to strangle them until they were unconscious. With that done, Shikamaru released the jutsu and yawned, "Troublesome."

Choji took a bite from his chips before putting them in his back pocket, Ram → Special Seal: "Baika no Jutsu (Expansion Jutsu)!" He started rolling in place, "Nikudan Sensha (Human Boulder)!" He started rolling the enemies down without mercy.

"Gatsūga (Man-Beast Ultimate Taijutsu: Fang Over Fang)!" Kiba and Akamaru spun at ferocious speeds drilling into the enemies until they went down not getting back up.

Neji waited patiently as the enemies came at him, activating his Byakugan he got into his stance, "Jūkenhō: Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!"

"Ni Shō (Two Palms)!"

"Yon Shō (Four Palms)!"

"Hachi Shō (Eight Palms)!"

"Jūroku Shō (Sixteen Palms)."

"Sanjūni Shō (Thirty-Two Palms)."

"Rokujūyon Shō (Sixty-Four Palms)!"

He sent them all flying in different directions, "The Hyūga's are the strongest clan in Konohagakure no Sato." He declared.

Ino made a specific hand sign, "Shinranshin no Jutsu (Mind Destruction Jutsu)!" The enemies around her suddenly decided to attack each other instead of Ino, _'Good thing I asked dad to train me right after I lost to Sakura.'_

Soon enough the enemies around them were rendered unconcious leaving only the Genin's standing there staring down at the motionless bodies.

Tenten wiped her forehead, "Whew, looks like we got them all."

"Looks that way." Neji agreed.

Choji looked into the forest where Naruto and the others ran off to, "You think the others are okay?"

"They went after Naruto, right? Something tells me they're fine." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head thinking back to Gaara's form back at the arena and how he was giving Naruto those hungry eyes, _'That Gaara guy...he gave off too much bloodlust for a normal person.'_

"You think we should go after them? They might need our help." Tenten wondered.

Before they could even voice their opinions on the matter they sensed a massive chakra burst making them turn their heads in the direction where it came from and saw a giant tanuki emerge from the forest.

"Wh-What the hell...is that...?" Kiba's eyes were shaking as Akamaru whimpered.

"So much chakra...it's unbelievable!" Neji stared.

Shikamaru got a bad feeling about this. Just what the hell is going on over there?!

 _'_ _Dammit, Naruto!'_

 **With Hiruzen, Jiraiya, A, and Orochimaru**

Edo Tobirama clapped his hands together, "Suiton: Suishōha (Water Style: Water Shockwave)!" A spiraling vortex of water was sent right towards A.

A used his lightning incased chakra cloak to teleport away from the water quickly appearing next to the Nidaime, "Raigyaku Suihei (Lateral Bolt of Pain)!" With a simple backhand chop against the Nidaime he snapped the man's neck, but since it was an Edo Tensai version on the Nidaime that didn't take him down.

Tiger → Rat → Horse → Snake → Dragon → Hands clap: "Suiton: Suidanha (Water Style: Severing Wave)!" After gathering chakra in his stomach and converting it into water, Tobirama spews it out as a high pressure stream that almost got the Raikage had he not tilted his head out of the way in time.

 _'_ _I don't have time to waste on this guy, time to end it!'_ A thought as he charged at the undead man at inhuman speed, "Raitoningu Sutorēto (Lightning Straight)!" Sending a fist to his face the Nidaime was sent flying as his face was a mess, right when he was about to reanimate the Raikage appeared before him slapping a chakra suppressing seal on the man's head preventing Tobirama from using any chakra or move for that matter.

"Looks like it worked." A said recalling how he got the seal.

 _A looked down as Jiraiya gave him a piece of paper, "What's this?"_

 _"_ _A chakra-suppression seal, it'll seal away a person's chakra and also keep them from moving." Jiraiya explained, "It should work on an Edo-tensei body too."_

 _A hid the paper, "I'll slap it on his forehead when the time's right."_

The Raikage went and joined the Hokage and Jiraiya since the Nidaime was out of commission. Now all they to focus on was Hashirama.

"So the seal worked, now we just have Hashirama to deal with." Jiraiya said.

"Yes." Hiruzen kept his eyes on Hashirama.

Tiger → Snake.

Hiruzen's eyes widened, he knew those hand signs, "This is bad. This is a Hidden Jutsu of the Shodaime!"

Jiraiya and A tensed.

"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan (Secret Wood Style Jutsu: Deep Forest Emergence)!" Trees began to grow from the surface, easily creating a dense forest all around them.

Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram: "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)!" Smoke surrounded them just as the trees reached them, surrounding them on all sides. When the smoke cleared Orochimaru saw all three were protected by what looks to be an Adamantime barrier of some sorts.

"Kongō Rōheki (Adamantine Prison Wall)!" Hiruzen announced.

Jiraiya released a breath he didn't know he was holding, "Good timing, old man."

A looked around, "So, this is the power of the Shodaime."

"Don't get too impressed because he's about to come at us again." Hiruzen warned.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Things just aren't going as planned are they? Oh well...things have finally gotten interesting." He pulled something out of his mouth much to A's disgust.

Creepy bastard.

"That's one of his swords...Kusanagi no Tsurugi (Grass Long Sword)." Hiruzen stared at the blade.

"What now?" Jiraiya questioned.

Hiruzen had his summons Enma turn into a staff this time, "I'll deal with Orochimaru, the two of you fight together against Hashirama."

"He's all yours." A said.

"Watch your back old man, you're not as young as you used to be." Jiraiya pointed out.

"Neither are you." Hiruzen shot back charging at Orochimaru, both weapons clashed, fighting for dominance.

Jiraiya and A meanwhile engaged Hashirama in a fierce taijutsu battle, while Hiruzen dealt with his former student. All three froze however when they sensed a massive amount of chakra coming from the woods and saw a giant tanuki emerge.

"Is that..." Hiruzen stared in disbelief.

"The Ichibi-Shukaku." Jiraiya said.

"That crazy brat unleashed it?!" A exclaimed.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Do you see it now? You can't possibly hope to win old man. This village will fall along with you." He was surprised however when the old man chuckled himself.

"This village will never fall, because there are those who still carry the Will of Fire." Hiruzen smirked.

Orochimaru sneered at him.

"Also...I believe in Naruto!"

 **With Naruto, Yugito, and Shukaku**

Naruto stared at the massive entity in awe, his first time having seen a Bijū up and personal before. Kurama doesnt count because he's sealed inside him and isn't outside to stretch his limbs. If Shukaku was this big then that means the others are too.

"So that's Shukaku..." Naruto said, as Kurama described the giant tanuki.

 ** _"_** ** _Yeah...ugly looking isn't he?" Kurama commented._**

Naruto sweat-dropped, _'Seriously...?'_

 ** _"_** ** _Now's not the time to be making jokes right now, Kurama!" Gyūki scolded._**

 ** _"_** ** _Shukaku...I feel a lot of hatred coming off of him. There's no telling what Sunagakure no Sato did to him." Matatabi expressed her sadness._**

 ** _"_** ** _We would have turned out the same if it wasn't for our partners." Gyūki said._**

 ** _Kurama and Matatabi said nothing, but knew Gyūki was right._**

Sasuke couldn't help but fear the power he was feeling coming off of Gaara, Sakura was still unconscious pinned to a tree by sand, and Temari was staring up at her brother with tears in her eyes.

 **"** **Gyahahaha! I'm finally free!"** Shukaku cackled.

"This is bad! Fighting a full on Bijū is dangerous! We need to throw everything we've got at him!" Yugito said.

Naruto clapped his hands together, "Just what I was planning to do!"

Shukaku looked down at the two, **"Keh! Two victims for the taking!"**

"He's coming!" Naruto warned, _"Kurama, when I give the signal, do it!"_

 ** _"_** ** _I got it!"_**

Shukaku made the first move bringing his fist down upon Naruto and Yugito who jumped out of the way in time. Naruto made the Snake hand sign, _'Hope this works.'_ He thought, "Mokuton: Mokujin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wooden Dummy Jutsu)!" an enormous statue-like creature made out of wood emerged, the humanoid creature had an oni-like face with a dragon wrapped around its neck. It stood at the same height as Shukaku, Naruto jumped on top of its head as he got ready to fight Shukaku.

Yugito was impressed by the sight, "He's going all out now. We can't lag behind now can we, Matatabi?"

 ** _"_** ** _Of course not!" Matatabi agreed._**

Yugito gathered Matatabi's chakra transforming fully into the Bijū, a two-tailed bakemono covered completely in cobalt blue and black flames. The eyes were heterochromatic, the right being yellow and the left being green.

 **"** **Two becomes one! Matatabi and Yugito!"** Yugito/Matatabi spoke in unison.

"Come, Shukaku!" Naruto challenged.

Shukaku obliged, "Fūton: Renkūdan (Wind Style: Air Bullet)!" Shukaku took a deep breath and then pound its stomach to apply external pressure, the power of which it uses to shoot a highly compressed air ball from its mouth.

"Go!" Naruto commanded the wood human as it moved to block the wind jutsu with both hands, holding its ground as it threatened to push it back a little.

 **"** **Byōen Hōka (Flaming Cat Roar)!"** Yugito in Matatabi's form shot a huge fireball at Shukaku getting him in the side, while Shukaku was disoriented the wood human used that opportunity to attack, punching him right in the jaw sending him flying back. Shukaku rolled before coming to a complete stop.

 **"** **Nice punch."** Yugito/Matatabi complimented.

The wood human merely grunted as Naruto kept his eyes on Shukaku watching as he got back up and caught a glimpse of something, "I see Gaara! He's passed out sleep on top of Shukaku's head!"

 **"** **If we wake him up then Shukaku will go back!"** Yugito/Matatabi connected the dots.

"I'm gonna try something but I need your help." Naruto told her.

 **"** **What is it you need of me?"** Yugito/Matatabi asked.

"I need you to distract Shukaku long enough for me to do what I need to do." Naruto told them.

 **"** **Leave it to me!"** Yugito/Matatabi charged at Shukaku who used his tail to try and smack her in the face but she jumped out of the way before it could hit her.

 **"** **Daibyō Sōgeki (Great Cat Claw)!"** Yugito/Matatabi clocked Shukaku in the jaw again, giving Naruto that opportunity to use another jutsu.

Snake → Ram → Hare → Dog → Snake "Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu)!" A dragon made out of wood emerged heading straight for Shukaku, wrapping around his body restricting his movements giving Naruto the opportunity to wake Gaara. As Shukaku was held back for the time being, he approached Gaara about to wake him up when sand appeared making him jump back as Shukaku got free from the dragon by having his tail whack the head clean off.

Naruto clicked his tongue, "Didn't work, no choice then. Let's do this Kurama!"

 ** _Kurama grinned, "About time!"_**

Naruto channeled Kurama's chakra fully before his appearance changed into Kurama's form, but unlike Yugito Naruto's form was still a fierce orange that radiated power.

 **"** **Bijū Mōdo (Tailed Beast Mode)!"** Naruto declared.

Yugito/Matatabi were very impressed, **_'This feeling...its the same as...'_**

Sasuke stared up at Naruto's Bijū Mōdo (Tailed Beast Mode) with wide eyes, "This power..."

* * *

Hinata and Shino saw the giant golden fox and felt both awe and fear staring at its form.

"Is that...the Kyūbi?" Shino stared.

Hinata felt her heart pounding in her chest as she felt the massive chakra and prayed for the blonde's safety, _'You can do it, Naruto-kun!'_

* * *

Kagura and Haruto smiled seeing Naruto in his new form, "He is very interesting, isn't he?"

"That he is, brother." Kagura agreed her eyes wandering over at Kimimaro, "So? Still wish to fight?"

Kimimaro looked a little winded having fought them longer than he had expected, and against his better judgement he fled from the two.

"Awww, he ran away." She pouted.

"He is no longer our concern, we've done our job." Haruto stated.

"True."

* * *

The other Genin saw the giant fox and couldn't believe their eyes! This was the Kyūbi?!

"This is the Kyūbi...?" Choji stared.

"You feel that? That...power?" Ino shivered.

"I can feel it, even Akamaru." Kiba said as Akamaru didn't shiver and instead simply stared.

"This chakra...it feels like Naruto..." Neji said.

"Naruto?" Tenten looked at him.

Shikamaru turned his head sharply at Neji, "You serious? You really feel Naruto's chakra mixed in with the Kyūbi's?"

Neji nodded, "Yes."

Shikamaru then thought back to the conversation Naruto and Kurotsuchi had before they started fighting, _'Naruto said so himself, you can't kill a Bijū. Then that can only mean...'_

* * *

Jiraiya felt pride once he saw the giant fox, the Jounin, Chunin, and other ninja's gathered saw the golden fox but didn't feel anything malicious coming off of it. Yamato smiled as he saw his student use the Kyūbi's chakra, Killer Bee grinned and started rapping like a maniac much to the annoyance of Yamato. Kakashi's eye widened as he saw the blonde had complete control of the Kyūbi's chakra and wondered how that happened.

Hiruzen smiled at the sight, _'You've done well, Naruto.'_

Orochimaru's eyes widened having not expected this, "He has complete control over it? I didn't foresee this!"

"Naruto's just full of surprises, isn't he?" Jiraiya grinned.

Orochimaru glared.

"You will never manipulate him over to your side!" Hiruzen declared as he got ready to attack again.

"So you say, but the heart is a fickle emotion...it can easily be swayed." Orochimaru smirked.

"Naruto's special." Jiraiya stated.

"That he is." Orochimaru said licking his lips.

Jiraiya was sickened and attacked along with Hiruzen and A.

* * *

Naruto punched Shukaku right in the face sending him back while Yugito/Matatabi grabbed his tail, clamping down on it with her mouth and swung him away making him land hard on the ground.

 **"** **We'll handle this, Yugito! Just be support!"** Naruto told her.

 **"** **All right!"** Yugito/Matatabi said.

 **"** **Here we go."** Naruto said.

Shukaku used some of his sand to try and get Naruto but he had other plans, Tiger → Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger: **"Ninpō: Suiton: Suijinheki (Ninja Art: Water Style: Water Wall)!"** Naruto/Kurama formed a water wall around them as the sand slammed into it rendering it useless, _'No more fooling around, lets see how you like this!'_ He thought, Tiger → Ox → Monkey → Rabbit → Ram → Boar → Ox → Horse → Monkey → Tiger → Dog → Tiger → Snake → Tiger → Ox → Monkey → Rabbit → Bird: **"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu)!"** A large scale of water surges from the ground and shoots towards Shukaku sending him back once more as his sand shield failed to protect him.

Naruto was grateful Zabuza taught him some water style jutsu's when they were training, it really did come in handy just like he said it would.

 _"_ _I think its time we end this, don't you agree, Kurama?"_

 ** _"_** ** _Just what I was thinking." Kurama smirked._**

Shukaku got up angrily, **"I've just about had it with you, you pest!"** He opened his mouth revealing a positive black chakra ball forming.

 ** _"_** ** _He's using Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Bomb)!" Gyūki exclaimed._**

 ** _"_** ** _What a coincidence, we were about to do the same thing. Naruto!" Kurama said._**

 _"_ _Already on it! Synch with me, Kurama!"_ Naruto said mentally from inside his partner placing both hands in front of him.

 ** _"_** ** _Hell yeah!" Kurama opened his mouth forming the ball of pure black chakra just like Shukaku._**

Yugito/Matatabi stood back and simply watched, ' _This will determine the final battle. Who will be victorious?'_

Both balls finished forming as they were unleashed, **"Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Bomb)!"** Both attacks were sent towards each other clashing as they met in the middle swaying a little, fighting for dominance. Naruto closed his eyes thinking about his precious people in the village and refused to let this attack reach them and let out a ferocious cry.

 **"** **GOOOO!"** Naruto cried as their Bijūdama overcame Shukaku's swallowing him whole as they heard him cry out in pain and a large explosion could be felt around the village. There was a white light that blinded those who were near the area, and those who saw it in the village simply stared on in fascination. When the light died down, the once giant tanuki they saw was no longer seen...

Naruto looked down at the huge crater that was created and saw a barely conscious Gaara in the center of it on his back not moving an inch, _"Kurama..."_

 ** _"_** ** _I know."_**

Naruto got out of his Bijū Mōdo (Tailed Beast Mode) almost falling to the ground as he wobbled over to Gaara who was watching his every move like a hawk.

"Don't come any closer! Stay away!" Gaara yelled out of fear.

Naruto ignored his cry, still moving towards him at a slow pace. Once he finally reached the red head he crouched down and...smiled. Gaara gave him a confused look, why is he smiling?

"Its painful," Naruto spoke softly, "To have your very existence ignored, to have scornful words said behind your back, to walk around everyday seeing those hateful expressions..."

Gaara said nothing as Naruto spoke, "I know, I've been there." Naruto brought his hand up towards his eyes, just now noticing his black sash had gotten lost somewhere, "Before I went blind, I was forced to see their scornful looks wishing I was dead every single day. When the looks weren't working, they decided to ignore my existence completely...but that didn't bother me."

"Why...why would you sacrifice so much for them...?" Gaara questioned.

"I do it for the people who see me for who I am...Naruto Uzumaki, not a demon." Naruto smiled.

"People who see you...for who you are..." Gaara muttered.

Naruto placed his hand on Gaara's stomach, "There are people who I want to protect, and who want to protect me in return. They're the reason why I fight...they are my strength."

Gaara closed his eyes, "I see...you protect them...because you love them..."

Naruto took a deep breath, "You should have this seal looked at...I can't do anything, but Jiraiya can. Once this seal is fixed you can finally sleep."

Gaara opened his eyes, "Sleep..." the red head found himself being lifted off the ground, one arm placed over Naruto's shoulder as the blonde slowly led him out of the crater.

"You know...they care about you, too." Naruto said.

Gaara gave him a questioning look prompting Naruto to elaborate, "Temari and Kankuro, their fear and love for you is obvious. But, their love and concern for you...is starting to overlap their fear."

The red head looked down thinking about his siblings and how at some point they did express their concern for him over time, but he brushed it off with indifference believing it to be only temporary. Maybe...he could change and start to care about them, too? He eyed Naruto who kept his eyes forward, _'Maybe someday...I can become like you, Naruto Uzumaki.'_

Naruto and Gaara finally got out of the crater and were greeted by Yugito who got Gaara's other arm, "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Tired..." Naruto snorted sensing his clone appear next to him, "Sorry, think you can take Gaara? I'll use my stick to walk."

"All right." Yugito said taking Gaara off Naruto's hand as he took his stick from his shadow clone who disappeared promtply.

"Speaking of which," Naruto dispelled his clone one by one instead of all together. Dispelling shadow clones all at once was garaunteed to give a monster headache, something he didn't want.

Yugito spotted Gaara's siblings, as well as Sasuke Uchiha and their teammate who was still unconscious on his back. Gaara's siblings looked ready to attack but Gaara shook his head, "No...its over."

Temari and Kankuro backed off immediately seeing Gaara's tiredness, which was a first for him. Yugito gave him over to them with a smile.

"Temari...Kankuro...I'm sorry..." Gaara apologized.

Temari and Kankuro were surprised their younger brother would apologize to them, they noticed he looked over at Naruto who looked just as tired as him and wondered if the blonde had something to do with their brother's changed behavior.

"Don't mention it..." Kankuro finally said.

Temari gave the blonde a grateful look, _'Thank you...'_

"Naruto-kun!"

All of them turned their attention towards the rookies, or in Naruto's case heard them running towards them. Naruto let out a huff, _'I'm too tired to even speak...goodnight.'_ He leaned forward only to be caught by Shikamaru who grabbed both his shoulders.

"He's out cold." Shikamaru stated.

Hinata rubbed the blonde's golden locks with a smile, _'You did it, Naruto-kun!'_

Neji volunteered to carry Naruto on his back, the sand siblings and Yugito followed the Genin as they all went back to the village. This invasion was over.

They've won.

* * *

Orochimaru clenched his teeth as he saw Shukaku was no longer present, looking back over to his opponents he saw the reanimated Shodaime had the same seal placed on his forehead too.

"Things not going as planned?" Jiraiya teased.

Orochimaru closed his eyes, "No...but there are always set backs..." as he said that the barrier keeping others from entering or leaving dissapeared as four Oto shinobi surrounded Orochimaru. He smirked, "Until next time, but by that time...both Naruto and Sasuke will be mine!" And with that he dissapeared along with the four Oto shinobi.

The shinobi in the area looked around for a few more minutes before they began to cheer their heads off. They had won the invasion.

Hiruzen sighed as he sent Enma back and relaxed, "Its unfortunate I was unable to kill him, but at least he'll think twice about attacking the village again."

"Yeah..." Jiraiya stared at the spot where he dissapeared from.

A put his robe back on just as Darui and Shi appeared next to him, "You've got a lot of work to do." He eyed the village's damage, "But, we'll stay for a little while and help."

"I thank you, Raikage." Hiruzen gave him a grateful smile.

"You've also gotta deal with the Tsuchikage and his assassination attempt on Naruto, sucks to be you right now." Jiraiya grinned.

Hiruzen gave him a playful glare and vowed to pass this job off on Jiraiya one way or another, an idea struck him and smirked evily as his student, "Not necessarily..."

Jiraiya blinked in confusion, "Eh?"

* * *

 **Next Time: Search For The Senju.**


	13. Search For The Senju

I had a hard time focusing on this chapter because of the Vic Mignogna scandal, and it is getting uglier and uglier. The Anime community is lashing out to the point where its become utter chaos. The only thing I'm hoping for right now, is that the investigation into the allegations against him gets resolved, hopefully peacefully. Anyway, already writing the next chapter to this.

* * *

Having recovered from the aftermath of the failed invasion, Naruto is requested by Jiraiya to accompany him on a secret mission, but he's bringing along a companion with him as well. While traveling, a looming darkness moves within the mist

* * *

It seems like the Invasion happened forever ago, but in reality it wasn't forever ago.

There was a lot of damage that needed to be repaired of course. The good things that came out of the failed invasion was that no one from Konoha was killed. Known casualties were the Sound and Sand shinobi. The Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen was sent to the hospital, despite receiving minor injuries, but they wanted to admitted because of his age. Hokage or not, the man was still old and he needed check-ups to see he was feeling. While he was in the hospital though, the Raikage—A decided to form an alliance having fought together with the old man. Hiruzen didn't complain and agreed to the alliance and Jiraiya was present to witness the exchange.

Having gotten out of the hospital, he gathered the Shinobi council to asses the damage to the village and wasn't surprised the Sunagakure no Sato decided to send them a letter of alliance after having discovered their Kazekage was murdered by none other than Orochimaru. They also gave their unconditional surrender and offered to help pay for the damages done to the village without complaint.

Another thing Hiruzen had to do deal with was the Tsuchikage. They were still in custody, with their chakra sealed and ready to be processed back to their village. All things considered, it was a good thing he didn't just outright execute them for not only attempting to assassinate a Konoha Shinobi, but revealing an S-Class secret, too.

And of course, the key person who prevented casualties to Konoha, as well as stopped Sunagakure's berserk Jinchūriki was Naruto Uzumaki. With his multi-shadow clones aiding and sheltering civilians and helping Konoha ninjas defeating as many Sound and Sand shinobi as they could, it was a blessing. The original had been fighting Gaara Sabaku—son of the deceased Third Kazekage, and defeated him alongside Yugito Nii, a Kumogakure Shinobi. When the red haired boy had been defeated and Orochimaru fled, Naruto was brought to the Hyūga Manor to rest, using as much chakra as he did, Uzumaki be damned can really tire someone like Naruto out. Hinata was by his side the whole time as he was recovering, while Neji volunteered to guard the room in case assassins might try to get in. Just because things were quieting down doesn't mean some assassins won't try to take advantage of that and sneak in the village. Especially since Naruto's heritage was revealed by an Iwa Shinobi of all people.

Speaking of the reveal, it was a rather hard pill to swallow for some of those who hated the boy for so many years, and took vindictive pleasure in his blindness. Not only was he a member of the thought to be extinct Uzumaki clan (seriously, his last name is Uzumaki, how in the hell did none of you idiots link two and two together?), but also of Senju blood. Oh, and it gets worse, he's also the son of Minato Namikaze, their Fourth Hokage. He also had complete control of his Bijū, which had the three elders worried as they believed Naruto would be vindictive enough to destroy the village, but he wouldn't do that. He could, but he won't. The younger generation were furious at not only the elder generation for lying to them about Naruto, but also at themselves for how they treated him. The Rookie 12 were thinking about all the times Naruto would be glared at and spat at with nasty words, but made no reaction, preferring to ignore the people of the village. The signs were there, right in front of their faces, and they didn't see it.

No...

They chose not to see it.

The revelation made them feel worse.

As they were helping in the repairs of the village they would go and visit Naruto while he was still recovering at the Hyūga Manor. He was still sleeping of course but the next time they visited him, which was three days ago he was wide awake.

* * *

"Yo, Naruto! Finally up?" Kiba greeted with a grin.

"Arf!" Akamaru also greeted.

Naruto had just finished the meal Hinata made for him when he heard the Rookies, minus Sasuke and Sakura come visit him. When he woke up and Hinata told him about how the Rookie 12 came to see him since they found out he was resting here everyday. At first it felt...strange to have them all visit him, but at the same time thoughtful. Naruto already knew why he was staying here, though, because the Sandaime wanted him to be in a safe environment, and this place counts. He did want to get back to his apartment though, because of all of the plants he has there.

Ino gave Kiba and annoyed look, Could you be any louder? He just woke up not too long ago, so keep it down."

"What? I wasn't even that loud!" Kiba complained.

"Arf!" Akamaru barked.

"You agree with her?! Traitor!" Kiba exclaimed.

Naruto let out a soft sigh, "So noisy."

Hinata giggled, "Everyone's just glad you finally woke up. I know I am."

Naruto gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry. I wasn't exactly planning on sleeping for so long, guess I was more tired than I thought."

 _ **"Not just a "little" tired, you were completely drained," Kurama voiced, "That Sarutobi-brat was right to bring you here after you passed out."**_

 _"Morning, Kurama."_ Naruto greeted inwardly.

 _ **Kurama yawned, "Yo."**_

 ** _"You looked like you were sleeping pretty good, kinda sad you had to wake up." Gyūki said, entering the conversation._**

 ** _"Good morning, Naruto." Matatabi greeted politely._**

 _"I'm glad you're well rested, Naruto." Asura spoke._

Naruto smiled inwardly. Looks like they were all here to greet him when he woke up. But there was one thing he was wondering about though.

"You thinking about that Gaara guy?" Shikimaru spoke.

Naruto huffed an amused snort, "That obvious?"

Shikamaru sat down, "I've been watching your facial expressions for years. To me you're an open book."

"As expected of a Nara." Naruto commented.

Shikamru smirked then got serious, "I only know this cause my old man told me about it. Apparently Gaara's...seal was unstable, very unstable. So Jiraya-sama fixed it were asleep, but used the seal design he said you made. The guy should be less homicidal. He and his siblings were kept in a secure location for the seal fixing before they were quietly escorted out of the village, but Gaara left a message for you before he left."

"Message?" Naruto said curiously.

Shino nodded, "He only told Jiraiya-sama, so you'll have to ask him."

"Figures." The blonde muttered.

At least Gaara's seal was fixed up, and hopefully he and Shukaku could come to an understanding, but right now that was just wishful thinking. For now.

"I know this is random, but how's Lee doing?" He asked.

At that question, everyone went quiet. That wasn't a good sign.

"Naruto...there's a chance Lee might never be able to continue his career as a Shinobi." Ino said carefully.

Naruto closed his eyes at that. There's no telling how Lee is feeling right now. Naruto suspected that the reason for Lee's possible career as a Shinobi ending was because he went all out when fighting Gaara. It also didn't help that Gaara possibly might have contributed to nearly almost crippling Lee.

"He'll bound back." He said with so much confidence that it was hard for anyone in the room to argue.

"Enough about that, how are you guys after the invasion?" Truth be told he was a little worried about everyone's mental state after the invasion.

"We're okay, but its still surprising we were invaded like that." Choji said.

"Yamato-sensei told me that invasions are rare, but it does happen. I'm just glad you guys weren't seriously hurt." Naruto said honestly.

"We were a little surprised by everything that was going on, but we're good." Tenten assured him.

Naruto nodded with a smile before getting up.

"Huh? You plan on leaving?" Inko questioned.

"Of course I am," Naruto said, confirming his intentions, "My body's all healed up, I'm well rested, so its okay for me to take my leave. Besides, I wanna go and check on my plants I keep in my apartment. I haven't watered them since I've been recovering."

"Don't worry, I've been taking care of them since you've been asleep." Hinata assured him with a smile.

He smiled, "Thank you, Hinata."

She then frowned, "But...are you sure you want to go back to your apartment?"

"Yeah, I appreciate your clan allowing me to rest up here, but I think its time for me to get going." He was adamant about going back home.

Hinata stood up, "Then, I'm going with you, and don't tell me not to."

"I wasn't planning on it."

Shikamaru also stood up, "We'll go with."

Now that took Naruto by surprise, "Aren't you guys busy with other stuff? I'm pretty sure the village still needs help with reconstruction."

"Actually we're on break, besides we can afford to let some of the adults handle everything." Kiba said with a wave of his hand.

"Arf!" Akamaru agreed.

Naruto gave a grateful smile, "Thanks. I need to go outside and stretch my legs anyway."

As the Genin left the compound, there was something that had been on Naruto's mind since he woke up. What was going to happen now? The invasion was over, sure, Orochimaru fled by the skin of his teeth, but there was this sense of foreboding in the air that made him feel uneasy.

 _'Why do I feel like this? What's going to happen now?'_

 _ **RING! RING! RING!**_

He stopped in his tracks as he turned his body in the direction he heard the sound come from. It sounded really close, but now he doesn't hear anything. His grip tightened in his grasp as he sensed for any potential danger that might be around them, but sensed nothing. But that sound...

"Bells...?" He muttered.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" Hinata asked as she noticed he stopped walking. Everyone else also stared at him.

He shook his head, "Its nothing, just my imagination." He resumed his destination, but in the back of his mind he refused to simply forget about hearing the sound of bells.

 _'I don't like this.'_

* * *

Elsewhere, Sasuke was once again practicing his Chidori on a poor tree. Panting he stopped and rested for a bit.

"I wasn't..." he panted.

 _'I wasn't able to do anything!'_ He thought bitterly as he remembered being incapacitated while Naruto fought off Gaara and managed to win against an opponent he couldn't.

 _'Naruto just keeps getting stronger...while I...'_ he thought about his brother's eyes and did some hand signs, making Chidori come forth once more.

"AAAHHH!"

* * *

Sakura had just been walking around for hours. She had originally helped repair the Academy before Iruka-sensei told her to take a break. Not wanting to argue against him, she did just that and decided to take a walk around the village while deep in thought.

She was thinking about her teammate Naruto, and how horrible she treated him when they were little and still treated him horribly, even now. All the times he saved her and Sasuke without complaint, and never once said a mean thing to her.

While she...

A bitter chuckle escaped her, _'I'm no better than Ami and her crew when they bullied me before getting to know me.'_ It was ironic. She had gone from being a victim of bullying before becoming the bully herself, and yet...Naruto didn't hold any ill-will against her. Sure, he didn't really care for her, but he didn't hate her. And at times treated her like a teammate. Something she didn't do even once.

Not even Sasuke...

She had to force down a wince when she remembered the look Sasuke showed when he told her that it was Naruto who saved her and defeated Gaara. People had been talking about that nonstop when they started reconstruction, saying how they couldn't believe just how strong Naruto was, and he truly was the Yondaime's son.

There were times when they themselves would look at him with such nasty eyes and now here they are talking about him as though he were the next Hokage. If she suddenly started acting like them then she would be nothing but a hypocrite, and Naruto deserved so much better than that and then some. Clenching her fists she made a decision to change from now on. She also needed to apologize, too.

 _'Naruto, I promise I'll become a better person!'_

* * *

Kakashi was standing outside a tea house, reading his trademark Icha Icha book, but put it away when he spotted Kurenai and Asuma walking towards him.

"Hey, guys. You two seem to be getting along." He said in good nature.

Kurenai blushed, turning her eyes sideways, "Idiot. Anko just asked me to pick up some rice dumplings for her."

"What are you doing here, aside from catching up on your reading?" Asuma inquired curiously.

"Ah, I need to buy something to put on a grave," Kakashi explained before eyeing some suspicious individuals inside the teahouse, "Plus I'm meeting somebody here. I'm just waiting on Sasuke."

Inside the tea house where two cloaked individuals with red clouds on them, wearing straw hats that overheard the conversation. One of the individuals finger twitched at the mention of Sasuke.

Asuma got the message and went along with him, "Hah, its not like you to be waiting on somebody."

Kurenai also got the message and eyed the two cloaked individuals.

"Is it for...Obito?" Asuma asked.

"Obito?" Kurenai questioned.

"Uh, yeah, kind of." Kakashi said.

Sasuke was waking towards the Jounin, having seen the messenger hawk Kakashi sent for him.

"Kakashi, it's not like you to show up early, what gives?" Sasuke questioned.

"Well...sometimes I do." Kakashi replied.

Seeing the silver haired Jounin was looking inside the teahouse, he looked in the same direction and frowned, "Let's eat somewhere else, I don't have much of a sweet tooth."

"Hmmm, is that so?" Kakashi gave Kurenai and Asuma a signal and they followed it, going after the two mysterious cloaked figures, while leaving a confused Sasuke behind.

 **With Asuma and Kurenai**

The cloaked figures were walking near a river when they suddenly stopped as Asuma and Kurenai blocked their path.

Asuma spoke first, "You guys aren't from around here are you? What are you doing in this village?"

The figure, who was about the same height as Kakashi spoke, "Its been a long time...Asuma, Kurenai." His voice sounded young.

"The fact that you know our names must mean you're a Shinobi formerly of this village." Asuma said.

As Asuma said that, the figure grabbed his straw hat and slowly lifted his head, revealing red eyes with black tomoe.

It was the Sharingan!

Both Asuma and Kurenai's eyes widened as they knew who he was.

"Y...You're..." Asuma gasped.

Removing the hat so they could fully see his face, he dropped it on the ground and button opened his cloak.

"Heh, well what'd ya know..." Asuma said nervously, "Itachi...Itachi Uchiha."

Itachi stood there with his Sharingan active, eyeing them. On his forehead was a forehead protector that had the Konoha symbol on it, with a carved, long horizontal scratch across the symbol.

"Are these friends of yours, Itachi?" The tall male next to him questioned as he finally spoke, "Well then...I suppose I should introduce myself." He also removed his hat, revealing blue skin with eyes like a shark, even had what appeared to be gills, "Hope we can get acquainted later. The names Kisame Hoshigaki." Like Itachi, he was also wearing a forehead protector that showed the symbol for Kirigakure, which also had a carved long horizontal scratch across the symbol.

Asuma's eyes were shaking as he tried to stay calm, despite knowing that these two are dangerous, "Why should we wait till later? When I can just wipe the floor with ya both right now?"

"Boy Itachi, it looks like they hate you as much in this village as they do in mine." Kisame commented.

"We know who you are Kisame," Kurenai spoke, "We've heard all about you. You hail from Kirigakure no Sato, suspected of espionage and the murder of a feudal lord. You're a rogue ninja in Mizu no Kuni wanted in every nation."

"You're a high level S-Rank criminal, listed prominently in the Bingo Book." Asuma finished.

Kisame grinned.

Asuma gave Itachi a look of disdain, "Itachi...I've gotta hand it to you, the fact that you would even show your face in this village after what you did, it takes some guts."

"I'm warning you two, you don't want to interfere with me. It isn't my desire to kill you." Itachi told them.

"You know that's pretty hilarious coming from a guy who murdered his own people." Asuma sneered, "Now, come on, out with it. I know you didn't come skulking in here dressed like that for no good reason. What are you after?"

Itachi didn't answer him. Kisame reached behind his back and slammed his sword on the ground, creating a crack in the ground.

"This guys getting on my nerves, can I kill him?" Kisame asked.

"Well I guess we're not going anywhere without a fight," Itachi conceded to the fight that was about to happen, "Just try not to overdue it. Your moves tend to stand out."

"They're as good as dead." Kisame vowed as he brought his sword back up to hang over his shoulder.

Both parties stared at each other, neither making a move just yet, but that didn't last long as Kisame moved to attack first as he swun his blade down on Asuma, who blocked it with his Chakra Blades.

Kurenai moved behind Asuma before performing hand signs: Dog → Snake → Monkey → Ox → Tiger. Her whole body then disappeared as she finished casting the Genjutsu.

Itachi stared at her, _'I see...Genjutsu.'_

Meanwhile, Asuma was still struggling with Kisame, ' _He's baring down with just the edge of his sword! His strength is unreal!'_ The clothed blade touched the man's arm, making Kisame grin.

 _'My massive blade, Samehada.'_ Kisame wasted no time in pulling the blade back, revealing what looked to be a very sharp blade that cut Asuma's arm, as it was revealed.

Asuma grunted as he moved back.

"It doesn't slice, it cuts you to ribbons!" Kisame revealed.

Asuma held his arm in discomfort.

There was a shift in the air as Asuma smirked, knowing it was kurenai.

"Its about time...Kurenai." He smirked.

Kisame gave a surprised gasp as he found his feet be swallowed by what appeared to be mud. Meanwhile Itachi was being held by branches as a large tree appeared behind him. With a calm look, he looked up and spotted Kurenai coming out of the tree, kunai in hand. This was her signature technique.

Magen: Jubaku Satsu (Demon Illusion: Tree Binding Death).

"All right..." she raised the kunai before bringing it down on Itachi, "Let's end this!"

Itachi smirked as Kurenai found herself being completely robbed of mobility, much to her shock.

 _'What? But, how?!'_

"Genjutsu of that level doesn't work on me," He stated calmly, "And since you seem confused as to how you ended up this way, I'll tell you. While true, your Genjutsu allows you to immobilize your enemy and is quite effective...my reflection is much better."

 _'He used a Genjutsu reflection?!'_

"Magen: Kyō Tenchi-ten (Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change)." He announced its name, "That is the name of the counter."

Her eyes were shaking as she stared at him, _'Incredible...I always heard his Genjutsu was above Jounin level, but this...'_

Itachi brought out a kunai, while Kurenai closed her eyes and bit her lip, drawing blood. Doing this freed her from the Genjutsu reflection Itachi used on her and she quickly ducked, the kunai barely missing her as it got some of her hair. While she was fast enough to dodge that, she wasn't fast enough to avoid Itachi's kick. Seeing no other choice, she brought up both arms as the blow sent her flying and out into the river.

"Argh!" She said as she hit the water.

"Kurenai!" Asuma cried.

"I wouldn't be looking over there if I were you." Kisame said, drawing Asuma's attention back onto him.

Kurenai was kneeling on one leg on the water.

"You live up to your reputation," Itachi said from behind her, "However..."

Frozen in place, all she could do was turn and face him.

"However, this is the end of the line...for you anyway." A new and familiar voice entered the scene.

Kisame was trying to get Asuma again with his blade, but this time Asuma decided to retaliate with his Chakra Blades and strikes himself, aiming for the cheek Kisame dodged it...or so he thought as blood appeared.

"What?" Kisame said, confused.

Asuma gave him a smirk, showing his Charka Blades infused with his chakra that allowed him to cut Kisame, even if the blade didn't make contact.

Kisame started making hand signs: Tiger → Ox → Dragon → Hare → Dog → Bird → Rat → Clone seal → Dragon → Ram. Unknown to him Kakashi was following his hand sign movements. As water was gathering in the river both Kisame and Kakashi announced the jutsu at the same time.

 _"Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique)!" T_ hey both called out.

As the water was shaped into a large shark, Kisame thrusts his hand forward as did Kakashi, who appeared before Asuma to counter the jutsu with the same jutsu. Both water style jutsu's collided until they dispersed.

Kisame was taken back by this, "He took up the same jutsu as I did!" There was something else Kisame noticed, or rather...someone.

Zabuza Momochi stood before the blue giant with a serious look, with his sword casually over his shoulder.

Kisame grinned, "Well, look who it is..."

Asuma eyed Kakashi and Zabuza, "Not that I'm unhappy to see you guys, but what're you two doing here?"

"Well, you know. I asked you to take care of those two earlier," Kakashi answered Asuma.

"But I guess I got a little worried." The other Kakashi that was standing behind Itachi with a kunai at the man's throat finished.

"A Kage Bunshin." Kurenai said.

"Kakashi, its you." Itachi said, looking behind him to stare at the silver haired shinobi.

Kakashi stared right back.

The battle was just getting started.

* * *

"Whew." Naruto sighed as he watered all of his plants, which according to Ino where all in top form. She was also gushing over the different kinds of flowers he had. Kiba and Choji had decided to stay out in the hall for some reason, but didn't question it. With that out of the way he decided to head outside and just walk around the village for a bit.

"Hey guys, thanks for coming all this way, I appreciate it." He said sincerely.

Tenten gave him a grin, "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you keep your place nice and clean...unlike Lee's place..."

Neji grimaced, not wanting to think about how Lee keeps the inside of his apartment.

"Haaa...there's a story behind that, but I won't pry." Naruto said with a smile as he sensed their emotions.

"We appreciate it." They said.

"By the way, Kiba, Choji, why did you decide to stay out in the hallway?" He said he wouldn't question it, but he was still curious.

Kiba patted his shoulder, "Its nothing, we just make sure that the hallway was clean, that's all."

"Yeah, my mom said a clean house needs a clean hallway." Choji said.

Naruto blinked, _'Okay...'_ he then smelled something on Kiba, who was the closest to him, _'That smell...soap?'_ Was he and Choji cleaning out here?

Hinata grabbed his hand, "Let's go to Ichiraku, Naruto-kun. I'm sure Teuchi-san would want to see you."

"I bet." Naruto smiled, leaving his apartment as he and Hinata were headed off towards Ichiraku.

Kiba frowned as he watched them leave out of sight. Shikamaru stood next to him as he watched the two get far enough where they couldn't be heard.

"You managed to get it all off?" The shadow user questioned.

"Barely," Kiba grunted, "Some of the writing was probably a few years old, so it was a lot harder to scrub it off."

"But we managed to finally get it." Choji said with a solemn tone.

When they all arrived at Naruto's apartment, it was hard for them not to make sounds that expressed their anger when they saw what was written on the walls.

 _ **MONSTER**_

 _ **FREAK**_

 _ **DIE**_

All the words were written in red. Shikamaru theorized that these words had been here for a long time. Possibly even after Naruto had been blinded. And despite Naruto not being able to see, they still painted these horrible words, but that was probably when he was a kid. And since Naruto was blind, he wouldn't be able to notice.

Ino looked disgusted, "How could they...!"

"This is another lesson we need to learn," Neji spoke seriously, "That even a village like ours holds a darkness that even we cannot see."

"Very mature words of you, Neji." Yamato walked up to them as he reached the top of the stairs.

"Yamato-sensei!" Ino exclaimed.

Yamato looked at the now cleaned wall, "First time I saw it, I didn't even bother to hide how I felt. You guys may not know this, but Jinchūriki are never treated kindly by their villages, especially if their village was attacked by one of the Bijū."

"Like the Kyūbi attacking Konoha right after Naruto was born." Shikamaru said.

Yamato didn't even look surprised, "Leave it to a Nara to put two and two together. As you already know, you can't kill a Bijū. To stop the Kyūbi's rampage, the Yondaim-sama had to seal it."

"Yeah, but..." Kiba couldn't even finish.

"Sealing it inside his own son?" Choji finished for him.

Yamato placed his hands on their shoulders, "I get that it gives you a bad taste in your mouth, but Yondaime-sama did it because he believed in Naruto. Now let me ask you this, despite all the hatred he received and unfair treatment, do you think Yondaime-sama made a mistake?"

Neji shook his head, "I admit that I don't know Naruto very well, but I believe Yondaime-sama didn't make a mistake."

"Naruto was able to put up with the villagers crap for so long, and didn't let it get to him," Kiba grinned, "Yondaime-sama was right to put his trust in Naruto."

"Arf!" Akamaru agreed.

"I also agree. Naruto is far stronger than we give him credit for." Shino spoke.

"Shino's right." Ino said.

"Naruto is a lot like Lee. Both of them are strong in their own way, so I think Naruto's the only one that can handle the Kyūbi." Tenten said.

Yamato smiled, "With all of you supporting him, I think Naruto will be just fine." He left the Genin's to meet up with Gai to see how his student was doing, but something made him stop on his way to the hospital.

 _'Something's not right.'_

He wasn't the only one to think that apparently.

* * *

Back with Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai, the silver haired ninja was still having a stare down with Itachi.

 _'Those eyes haven't changed. This one's a true heir of the Sharingan. That means I've gotta be ready for the worst.'_ Kakashi thought.

Kisame grinned at Kakashi, "Well, well, what a surprise. So that's how you copied my jutsu, so there really is someone besides Itachi with those crazy eyes. You're Kakashi aren't you? The Copy Ninja. Also, I'm surprised to see you here of all places, Zabuza."

Zabuza just scoffed at him, "Took the words right out of my mouth, Kisame."

Kakashi addressed Kisame this time, "You can also imagine my surprise. I go to check out a couple of vagabonds at the tea house...and find I find none other than Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, the scourge of Kirigakure no Sato."

"How about that, you know my name, I'm honored." Kisame said gleefully.

Kakashi eyed the sword Kisame was carrying, "That sword..."

"Samehada, that sword originally belonged to Fuguki Suikazan, a former member of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū (Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist)." Zabuza confirmed the swords identity.

"Fuguki Suikazan..." Kakashi knew that name.

"So what happened to the guy?" Asuma asked.

Zabuza slammed his sword into the ground, "He got himself killed by his own subordinate." He didn't need to explain who that was since Kisame had the sword, that meant he was the one who killed him.

Kisame chuckled, "By the way Zabuza, I heard you and this guy had it out awhile back."

"Yes...we did." Kakashi answered for Zabuza, reaching for a kunai.

Kisame raised his blade in the air and pointed it right at Kakashi, "Go ahead, I'd love to cut you to ribbons."

"Kisame...stop it." Itachi said sternly.

This took everyone by surprise as Itachi was stopping his partner from attacking Kakashi.

"If you take this man on, it won't be without cost. Furthermore, it will take time, and the commotion is likely to bring more Shinobi running. Your way is inefficient and unnecessarily risky, don't lose sight of our goal." Itachi explained as though he were scolding a child.

"Let's hear it, what is your goal exactly?" Kakashi questioned as the shadow clone standing before Asuma dispelled.

Itachi did say anything for a few minutes but soon spoke up again as he faced Kakashi, "We're looking for something and we know its here." Was all he said.

"And what would that be?" Kakashi questioned further.

Itachi didn't answer him as he just stared at the Jounin.

Kakashi, getting impatient brought out a kunai, "What is this thing you're looking for?" He demanded.

Itachi still didn't answer, "My way is more...efficient than Kisame's."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed while Itachi looked down, bringing out some shuriken. Kakashi jumped back, Tiger → Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger: "Ninpō: Suiton: Suijinheki (Ninja Art: Water Release: Water Formation Wall)!" As soon as he made the water wall, four water drills emerge attack the water wall, but couldn't penetrate it.

As the water wall went down Kakashi was back on his guard, _'The speed of his jutsu is incredible. I didn't even see a hand sign. The shuriken in his hand was just a ruse, to distract me from his water style attack.'_

"As what I expect from you Kakashi," Itachi complimented, "You almost anticipated my moves."

As he said that, another Itachi stabbed Kakashi with a kunai from behind, "Almost."

Kurenai's eyes widened, "A Kage Bunshin! His speed is too great!"

Kakashi stood there motionless for what felt like hours before he dissolved into water.

Kisame wasn't expecting that, _'A Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone)?!'_ A smirk appeared on his lips, _'I guess my village should be honored he's copied our jutsu so well.'_ He then had to jump back from Zabuza's blade.

"Eyes over here, you damn shark." Zabuza grunted.

Kisame grinned, "I've always wanted to see which one of us was the better swordsman. Let's find out!" He said, coming at Zabuza, who responded in kind.

Asuma decided to stay out of the way, knowing that he would only be a burden to Zabuza.

 _'These guys are both Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist. I don't even come close to their level.'_ He thought.

Itachi noticed Kakashi was below him, holding a kunai in hand but didn't panic.

Kurenai took the kunai from the underwater Kakashi with a smirk, "Nice job, Kakashi!" She was then grabbed and pulled away from the two Itachi's

"Get back, Kurenai! That one's the Kage Bunshin!" Kakashi was referring to the one in front of her. The clone soon exploded, causing a lot of water to rise.

"Kakashi! Kurenai!" Asuma cried as he jumped into the huge water wall to check on his comrades, _'He just blew up his own Kage Bunshin?!'_

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were waiting by the Konoha gate because Jiraiya said to meet him there. Why you ask?

Well...

* * *

 _As Naruto and Hinata were on their way to Ichiraku they bumped into Jiraiya, or rather...he appeared before them with a grin._

 _"Yo, nice to see you up and walking, kid." Jiraiya grinned._

 _Naruto huffed, "Yeah, I'm up. We went by my apartment earlier to check on my plants."_

 _"We?" Jiraiya inquired._

 _Hinata smiled, "The rookies, except for Sakura and Sasuke."_

 _Jiraiya wasn't surprised that Sasuke kid wasn't present. Talk about a hothead. And as for Naruto's female teammate, well...she probably needs some more personal time to herself._

 _"Anyway Naruto, you and me are going on a secret mission that's been given to us by the Hokage." Jiraiya said suddenly._

 _Naruto raised a brow, "Secret mission? Just the two of us?"_

 _"Yep!"_

 _Naruto sighed._

 _"What's with the sigh?" Jiraiya questioned._

 _"I'm going to have to be stuck with you all by myself on a secret mission?" He sighed again, "What was Jiji thinking?"_

 _"Hey!" Jiraiya protested._

 _"Since its from Jiji, I'll go. But, only if I get to take someone with me." Naruto explained his condition._

 _Jiraiya grinned, "Its already decided who will go with us?"_

 _"Oh, really?" Naruto questioned._

 _"That's right, and the lucky candidate is none other than Hinata Hyūga!" Jiraiya announced._

 _Hinata blinked before smiling and grabbing Naruto's hand, "I'll go!"_

 _Naruto didn't complain, since he was planning on bringing her along in the first place._

 _"Then its settled! The location of the secret mission is in Tanzaku Town!_ _Grab your gear, meet me by the gate, and lets head out!"_

* * *

So now here they are, waiting for Jiraiya to show up so they could get going.

"He tells us to meet him by the gate and isn't even here." Naruto frowned, a little irritated.

Hinata smiled, "I'm sure he's coming."

Just as she said that, Jiraiya appeared in a puff of smoke, "You two all set?"

"We've been ready, all he had to do was wait on you." Naruto stated.

Hinata giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, anyway, lets go." Jiraiya said.

As they walked further away from the village, Jiraiya frowned, his facial features serious as he felt an ominous presence in the air and felt this was a good time to have Naruto out of the village. It wasn't safe for him to be in the village right now, what with those in the shadows just waiting to pounce on him.

 _'I'll leave the rest to you, old man.'_ Jiraiya thought.

* * *

Back with the battle, all three Jounin were soaked but alive. Kurenai noticed the state Kakashi was in and grew worried.

"Are you alright?" She asked and froze as she linked eyes with Itachi.

Kakashi looked behind him, looking a little tired, "Stay on your guard. This guy was made chief of ANBU Black Ops when he was just thirteen."

"Okay, he's tough, we get it." Asuma grunted as he got into a stance along with Kurenai.

Kakashi scoffed, "Tough? You haven't seen half of what he can do."

And that's what made him uneasy.

"For someone who is not of the Uchiha clan, you have mastered the Sharingan well," Itachi gave credit where credit is due, "However, not being one of us you lack our physical strength, and that's something you can't copy."

Kakashi didn't try to deny the claim because he knew it was true, _'He's right, my body doesn't have the stamina.'_

Itachi closed his eyes, "Why is it that the Uchiha clan is known by all...and feared by all?" The wind picked up suddenly, "I'll show what the Sharingan can do when its wielded by a 'true heir' of the bloodline." Slowly, he opened his eyes as Kakashi's widened in horror.

 _'It can't be...oh, no!'_

"Close your eyes! Don't look at his eyes!" Kakashi told Asuma and Kurenai.

They closed their eyes, while Kakashi closed his non Sharingan eye.

"Listen, both you. Whatever happens, don't look. It's all over when you make eye contact with his gaze right now." Kakashi warned them, "I'm gonna have to do this alone, my Sharingan against his."

"Indeed your abilities are impressive," Itachi admitted, "They might even be enough to resist the Mangekyō Sharingan. However...there is something they can't defend against, this special Sharingan Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader). Only someone with the Sharingan and Kekkei Genkai...can defeat me."

Kakashi knew who the male was referring to...

 _'Sasuke!'_

He felt his heart beating in his chest as the Genjutsu took hold over him. Before he knew it, the sky became red and he was strapped to a cross. Itachi was facing Itachi who was wielding a blade.

 _"I wonder how much of this someone without the Kekkei Genkai can take?"_ Inner Itachi wondered as he stabbed Kakashi who grunted in pain. Kakashi had closed his eyes briefly, but opened them again as he noticed his sword wound was gone.

 _'So it was only...a Genjutsu?'_ He noticed there were now two Itachi's instead of one.

 _"In this Tsukuyomi..."_ One of the Itachi's stabbed him, making Kakashi grunt in pain again, _"Time and space..."_ the second Itachi stabbed Kakashi, sending new waves of pain, _"Even physical mass...I control them all."_ Itachi said, stabbing Kakashi again. Kakashi meanwhile, was grunting in pain, trying not to scream, _"The next 72 hours will be nothing but this...over and over."_ Itachi said as he continued to stab Kakashi over and over again. Unable to take it, Kakashi had passed out, but woke right back up when he noticed another Kakashi in the same predicament as him with two other Itachi's.

 _'That's...'_ His eyes widened.

 _"In this Tsukuyomi..."_ Itachi's words from earlier repeated themselves as he stabbed Kakashi again, _"Time and space..."_ Another stab, _"Even physical mass...I control them all."_

Kakashi was panting from the repeated stabs, _'Keep calm...its only Genjutsu.'_

 _"Telling yourself its only an illusion will do you little good."_ Itachi said, as if hearing what Kakashi was thinking and proceeded to stab him again, _"Pain is pain, call it what you will. Do you feel it any less deeply by thinking its not real?"_ Itachi asked, stabbing him some more, _"How long will it be I wonder? Before your spirit is broken?"_ He wondered as he stabbed Kakashi again.

This continued on for what felt like 72 hours like Itachi said it would as Kakashi was repeatedly stabbed over and over again. It was agonizing, and felt as though he would go completely insane. As more Itachi's gathered around him, one of them spoke.

 _"Only 71 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds to go."_

Shocked that only that amount of time has gone by, Kakashi's eyes widened, _'What?! Only a single second has passed?!'_ He didn't dwell on that for long as all of the Itachi's swarmed and stabbed him all at once. Kakashi felt the pain, and still managed not to scream. Soon the red sky had dissappeared and Kakashi's heartbeat was beating rapidly as his Sharingan eye was wide open as felt himself be released by the Genjutsu.

Kakashi panted as he was standing upright. Itachi was still standing there, watching him like prey. Soon the silver haired Shinobi fell, landing on his hands and knees.

Kurenai heard the noise, "Kakashi, what is it?! Can we open our eyes now?!"

"...No." Kakashi forced out as he was still panting, "Not yet..."

"What just happened?!" Asuma demanded, "One second the guys talking and the next second you hit the ground!"

Kakashi got up on one knee as he stared back at Itachi, _'Three days in that world, and less than a moment passed in this one. Why not just kill me? If he wanted to...he could.'_

Kisame appeared next to Itachi while Zabuza appeared next to Kakashi, "Whatever he did to you in that moment must've really messed you up." Zabuza said as he kept his focus on Kisame instead of Itachi.

Kisame was observing Kakashi, "Hmmm...after all of that the fools spirit is still intact," he then turned his attention to Itachi, "Meanwhile, you risked overusing those eyes of yours, you know that's dangerous."

Itachi didn't comment as he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"This...thing you've come for...is it Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned.

Still struggling to keep his eyes open, Itachi responded, "No...the legacy of the Yondaime."

Asuma, Kurenai, and Zabuza's eyes widened.

"He can't mean..." Kurenai said.

Zabuza got ready to use his blade, _'I heard rumors about these guys, but didn't think they'd show themselves out in the open.'_

 _'Naruto...'_ Kakashi thought back to a conversation he had with Jiraiya.

* * *

 _"Its good to see you again, Jiraiya-sama. How long has it been since you've even the village?" Kakashi asked._

 _Jiraiya had a serious look on his face, "Kakashi...I'll take over Naruto's training from now on."_

 _Kakashi wasn't expecting that._

 _"The old man was right to assign you as his Sensei. The kid's got a good head on his shoulders." Jiraiya said._

 _Kakashi looked at him, "That's not me. That was all Tenzo. He's been with Naruto since he was young, if anything you should be giving him the credit."_

 _"That's true, but Naruto's learned all he can from Tenzo and now has you to rely on. You two may not be close, but Naruto has come to respect you." Jiraiya said._

 _Kakashi smiled at that._

 _"Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is because while Naruto has managed to fully master the Kyūbi's chakra, it still won't be enough to up against them." Jiraiya said grimly._

 _"Them? Who is "them?" Kakashi asked._

 _"I've been keeping tabs on Orochimaru since the day he left the village, and while I keeping close tabs on his movements I noticed he joined a certain organization." Jiraiya explained._

 _"Organization? What organization? What's its purpose?" Kakashi questioned._

 _"No really knows exactly, but its a gang of nine Shinobi who call themselves the "Akatsuki." At first, they were just a small rag town group that stuck to wearing black robes with red clouds on them, but as the years went by they started gathering more members. They're not small timers either, almost everyone in the organization is listed in the Bingo Book as an S-Rank criminal. For instance...Itachi Uchiha is one of them." Jiraiya explained._

 _Kakashi's eyes narrowed at this._

 _"When nine Shinobi like that get together, its not because they feel like doing charity work all of a sudden. I'm pretty sure you know where I'm headed with this." Jiraiya said._

 _"The group started to split up recently and Orochimaru left the Organization," Jiraiya explained further, "The others paired up and dispersed through different areas, searching for jutsu to master, among other things as well."_

 _Kakashi looked serious, "And one of these things...is the Kyūbi?"_

 _"That's right, Naruto now has a target on his back because he has the Kyūbi sealed within him. Sooner or later, the boy will have to go through the rest of his life watching his back." Jiraiya said, "Focus on Sasuke for now, meanwhile I'll keep watch over Naruto."_

 _Kakashi said nothing, but understood._

* * *

Kakashi kept his gaze on the two rogue ninja's, "The Kyūbi sealed inside Naruto...that's what you're here for. You're not the only ones are you? There are seven more of you out there...searching, hunting...I know all about you, you call yourselves the Akatsuki, right?"

Itachi blinked.

Kisame frowned.

Asuma and Kurenai turned to him with their eyes still closed, "Akatsuki?" Asuma said.

Itachi looked serious as he eyed Kakashi, "Kisame, we'll take Kakashi with us, but we don't need the others...get rid of them."

Kisame charged at them, expecting this, Zabuza stood before Kakashi and got ready to swing his blade at Kisame when all of a sudden, Kisame was forced backwards by a strong kick.

"Konoha Gōriki Senpū (Leaf Strong Whirlwind)!" Gai then entered the scene with a kick, literally. And he wasn't alone either.

"You look a mess, Kakashi-senpai." Yamato stated the obvious.

Zabuza relaxed again, "Feh, somehow I knew you two would should up."

Yamato smirked but didn't turn around, "I kept getting a bad feeling so I sought out your chakra signatures. I ran into Gai on the way. Something about sensing unyouthful activity."

Zabuza gave Gai a dry look, _'This guy...he might really be a beast.'_

Kisame eyed the newcomers, but his focus was more on Gai, "Well, who have we here?"

"Konoha's fiercest beast of battle...I'm Maito Gai." Gai gave his trademark grin.

"Maito Gai, huh? Mighty stupid looking guy." Kisame scoffed.

"Don't underestimate him." Itachi warned.

Gai frowned, _'Its him...Itachi!'_

Yamato was ready to use his Wood Release, _'Never thought I'd see him in this village again.'_

Kakashi then slumped forward and fell face first into the water, almost sinking if Zabuza hadn't grabbed him in time and hefted the man over his other shoulder.

"There's no telling what they must've put him through." Gai said as he looked over at Kakashi's state.

"Both of you, close your eyes! Don't look at Itachi! If you do, you'll be caught in his jutsu!" Asuma warned.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing! After spending this much time training to fight Kakashi, I know all about Sharingan." Gai said.

Yamato was also relaxed, "There's a trick to not getting caught."

"That's right, you two open your eyes, now!" Gai ordered.

"But...if we..." Kurenai hesitated.

"Don't worry, just don't look at his eyes. That's the key to fighting an opponent who uses Sharingan. Focus on his feet, you can read what he's going to do from his feet." Gai explained.

Kurenai reluctantly opened her eyes, "Alright, but that trick sounds a lot more easier said than done."

Asuma also opened his eyes, "We haven't had all your training. We're not you, Gai, or you Yamato." He reminded.

"True, it takes skill to anticipate an opponents moves merely from watching his feet, but I don't have time to teach you now. You'll just have to do your best." Gai said.

"So what do we do?" Asuma questioned.

"Zabuza, give Kakashi to Kurenai so she can get him to the medical team. Asuma, Zabuza, and Yamato, you three will back me up." Gai said to the three of them.

"Gotcha." Asuma nodded.

"I'm ready, Gai."

Zabuza grinned, "As long as I get to spill that Kisame bastards blood, I don't really give a damn."

Gai faced the two again, "I've already sent word to the ANBU Balck Ops, but until they get here, we hold them off."

"Interesting, you got guts I'll give you credit for that." Kisame smirked.

"No, Kisame...we're pulling out." Itachi halted Kisame.

"Huh?"

"We're not here to fight a full scale battle," Itachi reminded, "Tempting as it may be, its not the way to do this. Let's go."

Kisame backed off, "That's too bad...it was just getting fun. They don't know how lucky they are." The two left the area quickly, leaving the Jounin there in bewilderment.

Asuma clicked his teeth.

Gai said nothing as he got out of his trademark stance.

Yamato relaxed, too.

They needed to report this to the Hokage.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Hinata asked.

Naruto smiled, "I'm fine. Don't worry so much, Hinata."

"I know..." she still couldn't help but worry though.

The two Genin, being followed by Jiraiya from behind were on their way to some place called Tanzaku Town. The white haired male still hadn't told them everything about the secret mission, but if it got Naruto out of the village for a little while then Hinata wouldn't question the man.

"By the way, I heard that Gaara left a message for me?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya smiled, "He did. The sand kid said, "The next time we meet...I'll be someone who is worthy to be called your friend."

Naruto's eyes widened before huge blushed spread all over his face suddenly and had to turn away out of embarrassment, "...I'd like that."

Hinata and Jiraiya chuckled at his embarrassed face.

Wanting to change the subject, he addressed Jiraiya again, "Ero-sennin, are you going to tell us the real reason for this sudden mission or keep us in the dark about it?" Naruto questioned finally.

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched, "And since when have you decided to call me that?"

"Since just now." Naruto said unapologetic.

Hinata was confused, "Ero-sennin?"

Naruto whispered in her ear, "He likes to peak in on women while they're in the bath house. Not only that, but he's the author of that orange book Kakashi-sensei is always reading."

Hinata blushed and edged away from Jiraiya and towards Naruto out of fear.

Jiraiya squaked at the reaction, "Hey, don't give me that look! I'm harmless!"

"Define harmless?" Naruto countered.

"Grrr, listen you...!" Jiraiya ran over towards a bridge that was in front of them and did a stupid pose, "The Toad Sage is only my cover! Allow me to reveal my true identity! From the north, to the south, to the east to the west, not even the spirits can defeat this Sannin!" He was now standing on top of an orange toad, "The white haired toad charmer! Or red hot ninja who strikes fear into the hearts of men...Master Jiraiya!" He finished with a kabuki pose that made Naruto and Hinata give him dry looks.

Hinata promptly grabbed Naruto's hand and moved forward, "Naruto-kun...I fear that he will corrupt you if you stay anywhere near him for too long."

"I agree." Naruto said dryly as they left Jiraiya at the small bridge looking like an idiot. In the distance a crow flew overhead saying, "Idiot...Idiot..." over and over again.

The two Genin stopped as Hinata looked up at a sign, "O'tafuku town, and its 10 kilometers from here."

"That's right, we'll stop by there to rest up for a bit before we move on again." Jiraiya said to them.

"That doesn't so bad, we could probably pick up some snacks on the way." Naruto said.

"We should bring some back for the others." Hinata suggested.

"They'd like that." Naruto agreed.

Jiraiya watched the two interact for a little bit more before getting that uneasy feeling again.

Were they being watched perhaps?

Unknown to Jiraiya he wasn't wrong in suspecting of them being watched because they were. Itachi and Kisame had managed to track them down and were now observing them.

"Hard to believe the kid is actually blind." Kisame commented.

"Yes, it is. But the fact remains that Naruto Uzumaki is in fact blind." Itachi said.

"And yet, he was able to defeat the container of the Ichibi." Kisame pointed.

"Yes...he was."

When their leader had found out that not only did Naruto Uzumaki have completely control over the Kyūbi's chakra, but even managed to defeat another Jinchūriki. Naturally the news did not sit well with the leader and ordered Itachi and Kisame to go after the boy.

"In any case, I'm pretty sure you could go toe-to-toe with him...though I don't think I can. He's on a whole different level." Kisame admitted. There were only a handful of people Kisame could go up against and win easily. A Sannin was not one of them.

"Yeah...if we face each other, both of us will be killed. Not a very appealing outcome. Even if there were more of us, the result would remain the same." Itachi said.

"Never thought I'd have to go up against one of the Densetsu no Sannin. If we fight him...then both the Uchiha clan and the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist will have their names dragged through the mud." Kisame didn't like the sound of it, but that will most likely happen.

"True, but still..." Itachi stood up calmly, "Even the strongest of opponents...always has a weakness."

* * *

Back in Konoha, the rest of the Jounin had gathered in Kakashi's apartment, looking over his sleeping form.

"Those two are trouble, but from the look of things it does appear that they haven't found Naruto yet." Gai said.

Zabuza had his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, "Didn't think they'd be making a move out in the open like this."

"So you know about them?" Kurenai questioned.

"When I was still a rogue ninja I'd heard some rumors about those guys. Heard Kisame had joined up, too. Didn't think Itachi Uchiha had joined up himself, though." Zabuza said.

"I don't think any of us was expecting it." Kurenai never thought Itachi would show his face here or anywhere after slaughtering his whole clan, save for Sasuke, "But what's really bothering me is the fact that they retreated."

Asuma sat down on the desk, "And that's the crazy part. It doesn't add up, I mean they'd already infiltrated the village. It should be easy for them to find Naruto around here. Not to mention, Itachi's seen Naruto's face before."

"Shhh." Gai shushed him, hearing someone come up the stairs.

The door opened to reveal Sasuke, "Kakashi..." he stopped whatever he was about to say when he noticed Kakashi was passed out and the room was full of Jounin, "Why is he asleep? And why is this room full of Jounin?" He questioned walking inside the room, but when no one answered him, he got angry, "What are you doing? What in the hell is going on here?"

Gai looked in the other direction, "Uh...not much really..."

A Chunin can running in, "Hey, is it true that Itachi has returned?!"

Gai gave him a look that said, 'Shut up, idiot!'

"And that he's come here to get Naruto?!" The Chunin didn't get the message and kept on talking. It only then he finally read the atmosphere and noticed Sasuke was standing there with Gai face palming.

Slowly, Sasuke turned to face the Chunin, who stood there and realized he had screwed up big time.

"Oh..."

Kurenai sighed, "Idiot." She hissed.

Sasuke's calm expression displayed pure rage at the mention of Itachi and ran out of the room.

Gai stood up quickly, "Why does this always have to happen?!"

Sasuke was jumping through rooftops before running down the street.

 _'So he's come back to the village, huh? And he's after Naruto? What does this mean?'_ He thought as he spotted Sakura, "Sakura!"

Startled, Sakura turned and saw it was Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun!"

"Have you seen Naruto?!" Sasuke asked.

"Huh, oh, no I haven't..." Sakura started to explain, "I was just looking for him myself..." she finished as Sasuke ran off in another direction.

 _'If Naruto get's caught...he's dead!'_ Sasuke came to a stop in front of Ichiraku, _'I won't let that happen!'_

He went in the eating establishment, "Old man, did Naruto stop in here today?!"

Teuchi was surprised to see Sasuke but answered his question, "Naruto? Well, I did see him along with Hinata. They were walking towards me, but stopped when Jiraiya-sama was talking with them. Said they were heading off somewhere."

"Where to?!" Sasuke demanded.

Teuchi thought about what he'd overheard, "Let's see now...they were talking about a secret mission, and said they would head to Tanzaku Town, but they'll probably stop at O'tafuku town before heading off there."

"Wait, did you say Jiraiya?" Sasuke wondered if he heard right.

Teuchi held up three fingers, "That's right, Jiraiya-sama. One of the Densetsu no Sannin. Now if you wanna find Naruto, your best bet is to find Jiraiya first, he's a big old man with long white hair. You can't miss him."

"A big guy with white hair..." Sasuke committed those features to memory as he took off again.

"Ah, hey!" Teuchi said before rubbing the back of his head, "Talk about in a hurry. Must be nice to be young."

* * *

Jiraiya, Hinata, and Naruto has stopped at O'tafuku town to relax and take a breather. It wouldn't hurt to just rest up and relax before going on the road again.

"Hey, you two! We're gonna crash here tonight!" Jiraiya said to them. They were currently at an Inn and Jiraiya had just checked them in.

"No complaints here." Naruto said.

"We wouldn't want to tire ourselves just yet." Hinata said.

Something behind them caught Jiraiya's eye. It was a beautiful woman who looked over at Jiraiya, giving him a wink.

Jiraiya's nostrils flared as he got excited, "OH, YEAH!"

Naruto gave Hinata a dry look, "A woman?"

"A woman." Hinata sighed.

Jiraiya gave Hinata the key to their room, "Here's the room key, I want you two to go right up to the room, work on your chakra, then get to bed okay?"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Let's go, Hinata." He grabbed her hand as she led him to the room.

 _'Can't even control himself.'_ Naruto thought.

* * *

Sasuke meanwhile was still running towards the outpost town Teuchi told him about.

"Its not that far off!"

* * *

Naruto sat on the bed as Hinata sat down next to him.

"Should have known he'd ditch us and go after a woman," Naruto sighed out in annoyance, "Show some restraint."

"I'm sure, Jiraiya-sama is capable of showing restraint...sometimes." She said unsurely.

"Doubt it." Naruto deadpanned. So far this 'secret mission' given to them by the Hokage was starting to sound like a chore.

 _ **"Naruto, leave that room immediately!" Kurama told him, sounding urgent.**_

 _"Kurama? What's wrong?"_

 _ **"I sense the presence of two individuals, S-ranked! One of them is an Uchiha!" Kurama growled.**_

 _'An Uchiha?'_ Sasuke? No, wait. Kurama said the Uchiha was S-class...his eyes widened. Sasuke's not the only Uchiha! He stood up quickly, _'It can't be—!'_

"Naruto-kun?"

"We need to go. There are two dangerous people on their way here and we need to go now!" He urged her to get up.

Not questioning him, she stood up quickly and grabbed his hand as she opened the window. Seeing no one suspicious below them they both left the room and took to the roof tops.

"Who were the dangerous people, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

Naruto's browsed furrowed, "I think one of them might be...Itachi Uchiha."

Her eyes widened, "Sasuke's older brother...?"

"Yeah, we need to get as far away from there as possible and find Jiraiya!" It didn't make sense though. Why the hell would Itachi just show up out of the blue? Whatever the reason, he didn't have time to dwell on it and focused on getting as far away from their previous location as possible. His senses went haywire as he sensed danger and pulled Hinata down in an alley. Good thing he did, too because they just barely escaped a water dragon. They then ran out in the open streets.

 _'Dammit! Where the hell is Jiraiya?!'_ He thought angrily, only to come to a stop when he sensed someone was in front of him. Just as he was thinking of turning around, the other dangerous presence Kurama told him about showed up.

 _'They've got us on both sides! And this chakra does feel familiar...it really is Itachi!'_ Naruto angeled himself before Itachi, while Hinata faced Kisame at his back.

Naruto created a shadow clone and had it hold his blade while he made the snake hand sign. He didn't use the Mokuton however...not just yet. This is not good. First he runs into the S-Ranked Rogue Ninja Orochimaru, now Itachi Uchiha?! And who is this other guy?! His chakra was also massive, almost like him.

"Impressive. You were able to sense we were coming and fled quickly." Itachi's voice rang in his ears. The same voice he'd met when he was a child. It still had that pleasant tone to it, sounding just like an older brother. Itachi's an S-ranked criminal, so why does Naruto not feel like he's in danger with Itachi standing before him? If anything, he's more afraid of his partner.

Sweat poured down the side of his face as he forced out a grin, "Not fast enough, apparently."

Hinata already had her Byakugan active and almost gasped when she saw Kisame's chakra.

 _'This man...is chakra is enormous!'_ She got in a stance.

Kisame chuckled, "This kid's pretty interesting, almost ashamed I have to cut off his legs."

"There's no need for that Kisame." Itachi said, sounding exasperated.

Naruto's blood went cold, "Kisame...as in Kisame Hoshigaki...another one of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist...?! Also known as Kirigakure no Kaijin (Monster of the Hidden Mist)?!"

Kisame had a gleeful smile on his face, "Well, well...you know my name and one of my titles! You're starting to grow on me, kid!"

 _'Great, another one of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist has taken a liking to me, only this time its the worst one of the bunch!'_ Naruto thought nervously. Zabuza may have been the demon of the mist, but Kisame's a monster! And for good reason!

"Hinata, don't let his sword touch you. Its not an ordinary sword." He warned.

"I can already tell." She said in a grave tone.

Kisame was outright laughing now, "Now I'm really impressed! Knows my name, title, and Samehada! Don't see many Genin like you nowadays!"

"I'm sure..." Naruto said.

Itachi spoke up again, "Naruto...we would like you to come with us."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Go with them? Not likely.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to decline." He responded.

"Naruto-kun's not going anywhere." Hinata glared at Kisame.

Kisame slammed down Samehada, "Looks like we're doing this the hard way. Do keep me entertained though, kid."

Hinata got ready, she didn't stand a chance, but at least she could prevent him from attacking Naruto.

Naruto also got ready. This was Itachi, so he had to be on his guard.

As the four of them had a stare down, Naruto's senses went off again, his eyes widened in horror, "No..."

Itachi closed his eyes as he sensed who was behind him, "Its been a long time..."

Kisame and Hinata looked at Itachi and saw Sasuke was standing right behind the man with a hateful glare.

"Well...the Sharingan, and he looks an awful lot like you," Kisame observed Sasuke's facial features, "Itachi, who is this kid?"

"He's my younger brother."

Naruto didn't like this. The situation just got even worse, _'Why is Sasuke here now of all times?!'_

"That's strange, cause the way I heard it the whole Uchiha clan was wiped out...by you." Kisame said.

Sasuke, with his Sharingan activated kept giving Itachi a hateful glare, "Itachi Uchiha...I will kill you!"

Hinata felt uneasy seeing Sasuke's Sharingan, _'His eyes...so much hatred...'_

"Its just as you said brother," Sasuke said, "I've fostered my hatred for you all this time!" Familiar cackling of lightning was heard, "I've lived my life...for one single purpose! TO SEE YOU DIE! IT ENDS HERE!"

"Don't!" Naruto tried to get through to him.

Sasuke's skin started peeling off as Chidori was still active, recognizing it, Itachi's eyes narrowed.

 _'Chidori...'_

"ENOUGH! YOU'RE DEAD!" Sasuke roared as he charged at Itachi in utter rage, "DIE!" As he thrust his arm forward Itachi merely lifted his hand, an explosion was sounded as the impact destroyed a nearby wall of a store. The occupants evacuating immediately. When the smoke cleared Sasuke's wrist was being held by Itachi, who didn't even have a scratch on him.

Hinata's eyes widened, _'I-Incredible...! He stopped the jutsu by simply grabbing onto Sasuke's wrist!'_

Naruto tensed.

Itachi gripped Sasuke's wrist hard enough for the boy to give a small grunt of pain.

Hinata was about to intervene when Naruto gave her a look. Understanding, she stood still as she noticed Kisame was waiting for either one of them to move. Naruto was waiting for the right moment to make his move.

Sasuke was about to hit Itachi, but that didn't happen.

"Enough." Itachi broke his brother's wrist, making Sasuke cry out in pain.

Ox → Snake → Ram: "Ninpō: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu)!" Naruto called out. Mist began to gather around them quickly taking both Itachi and Kisame by surprise.

Kisame grinned, _'Well I'll be. Even the kid knows a jutsu from my old village.'_

Itachi had a hidden smirk on his face, _'Quite impressive. You've grown...Naruto.'_

Naruto grabbed Sasuke and heads off, followed by Hinata and his Shadow clone. The two rogue ninja jumped out of the mist and took to the roof tops to find the kids.

Kisame chuckled, "That was interesting. I didn't know the kid could do that. I'm starting to like him more and more now."

Itachi said nothing, but hidden underneath his collar was a smile.

* * *

Naruto landed near a building he didn't know, along with his clone. Hinata told him they were near a building that looked like another Inn. Placing Sasuke down on the ground slowly he looked over at Hinata.

"This isn't good. We're up against two S-ranked ninja who can take us out just like that." Naruto said.

"I've heard many things about..." she hesitated as she looked over at Sasuke's down form, "Itachi...just being in his mere presence..."

"Yeah, but its his partner that has me really terrified." Naruto shuddered at the killing intent Kisame gave off, it was worse that Zabuza's.

"Kisame Hoshigaki...he's like Zabuza, a Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist." Hinata gripped the front of her chest tightly.

"Zabuza warned me that if I have the unfortunate circumstances of running into Kisame, I run." Naruto remembered how serious Zabuza looked when he told him this.

"What do we do now?" Hinata asked.

The one who answered her wasn't Naruto, but Sasuke.

"You two...stay out of this..." Sasuke forced out.

Naruto frowned, "Don't even think about it. Those two are S-ranked just like Orochimaru. We're only Genin, we stand no chance."

"Naruto-kun's right. We need to find Jiraiya-sama!" Hinata said.

"I don't care about that!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto was not in the mood for this. Just as he was about to knock Sasuke out, the very two they were running away from found their location.

Naruto got in front of Hinata and Sasuke, _'I'll have to use Kurama's chakra to give us a slight advantage!'_

Kisame grinned as he charged forward about to bring his sword down on Naruto when an orange toad with guards on its arms appeared and blocked it.

"A toad?" Kisame questioned.

In a puff of smoke, Jiraiya appeared with the very same woman that lured him off hung over his shoulder. He snapped his eyes opened and did a pose.

"As you can see you've failed! Jiraiya, the Toad Sage falls victim to no woman's charm, rare beauties fall for me! When you've reached the stature I have, the ladies worship at your awesomeness!" Jiraiya declared.

...

...

...

...

...

...Aho...Aho...

Jiraiya laughed awkwardly.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "You...!"

Hinata gave the man a dry look, "Jiraiya-sama, I'm sorry, but I no longer respect you."

An arrow hit the man in the chest.

"What do you mean, "You failed!" They didn't fail because you fell for it because you were thinking with your libido rather than your brain! I should cut it off without the use of anesthesia!" Naruto threatened as he was getting angrier and angrier.

"Whoa! Whoa! There's no need for that!" Jiraiya waved a hand in front of him.

"Shut up, Ero-Sannin." Naruto said in a flippant tone.

Jiraiya faltered before bellowing, "DIDN'T I JUST TELL YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT?!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Naruto bellowed back.

Itachi was watching the exchange with hidden amusement.

Kisame chuckled, "Whatever name you go by Jiraiya-sama, I must say you're somewhat of a disappointment. A lecherous old man with the disposition of a child, its almost impossible to believe that you are one of the Densetsu no Sannin."

"They don't even know you and they've already figured out your true nature," Naruto said, calming down as he dispelled the shadow clone and took his sword back, "How sad."

Jiraiya made a noise but said nothing.

"So, you somehow managed to release the Genjutsu we put on her, huh?" Kisame said.

Jiraiya placed the woman against the wall of a building, "What kind of cowards would put an innocent woman under a Genjutsu, all to separate Naruto from me."

 _'Separate us? It makes sense actually, Jiraiya S-ranked like them, but just as powerful. Meanwhile, me and Hinata are mere Genin and easy prey.'_ Naruto thought.

Jiraiya stood up from his crouch, "I know that he's the one you're really after."

Hinata gasped, Sasuke grunted, while Naruto suspected it had something to do with him.

"Now I see, that explains how Kakashi knew," Itachi figured, "He learned it...from you."

 _'Kakashi-sensei? Did Itachi do something to him?'_ Naruto wondered.

"You're correct, our orders from the organization are to secure Naruto Uzumaki, and we will have him." Itachi confirmed.

 _'Organization? Just what has Jiraiya been hiding from me?'_

The orange toad poofed out of existence as Jiraiya leveled the two a glare, "I won't let you have Naruto."

"I wonder about that." Itachi challenged.

"Actually, this is pretty convenient...I can eliminate you both at the same time." Jiraiya said.

"...Stay out of this..." Sasuke said to Jiraiya from his position on the floor.

Naruto and Hinata didn't make a sound as Sasuke slowly got up.

"The only one...that's going to eliminate him...is me!" Sasuke declared.

 _'This is bad! Sasuke won't listen to reason! He's still hell bent on trying to attack Itachi!'_ Naruto thought with a frown.

Hinata stood by Naruto as she watched the encounter uncomfortably.

Jiraiya stared at the boy, _'Of course, revenge...'_

Itachi only gave Sasuke a bored expression, "Go away, you don't interest me at the moment..."

Sasuke clenched his fist, charging at Itachi, "Well, get interested!"

Itachi merely kicked Sasuke away as he slammed into the wall of another building.

"Sasuke, that's enough!" Naruto told him.

"Mind your own business, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto had the urge to yell something back at him, but didn't.

Sasuke stood up once more, "I've lived my whole life for this day...this moment...this fight is mine!" His Sharingan activated as he said those words. Before coming at Itachi again and sending another punch, but like before it didn't even faze Itachi, who simply blocked it before backhanding Sasuke and sending him flying into the same wall.

Hinata had both hands covering her mouth at the display, _'This is...the result of pure hatred.'_

Sasuke sat up, his hand twitching, "Not finished..."

Itachi noticed this, _'He can't even managed to make the hand sign...'_

"This fight...is mine!"

Itachi's eyes narrowed at Sasuke's form, "So be it."

Jiraiya was about to intervene when Kisame stopped him, "You heard him old man, this fight is none of our business. Let's let the two of them sort it out."

Naruto didn't like the idea of that at all, but...

Itachi slowly approached Sasuke's downed form, standing before him with a calm expression.

"Fine then!" Sasuke got up to try and attack Itachi again, only to be kicked in the gut and hack up some blood.

 _'How...?'_

Itachi hit him in the back of the neck before kicking him in the chest.

Hinata couldn't bear to watch as she leaned in Naruto's shoulder and covered her eyes. Naruto may not be able to see the beat down...but could hear it. Every painful cry Sasuke gave when Itachi hit him, it wasn't exactly a nice sound to hear.

 _'All these years and nothing has changed...'_ he thought, falling forward, _'How can it be...?'_

Kisame smiled, "You show him no mercy."

Naruto said nothing and all Jiraiya could do was watch. He could intervene at any time, but didn't.

Sasuke fell to the ground with a hard thump.

 _'What have I been doing all these years? Was it...was it all for this...?'_ He closed his eyes pitifully as Itachi grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"You're still too weak," Itachi told him, "You don't have enough hate, and you know something?" He leaned in close and whispered, "You never will." He looked at Sasuke and activated Tsukuyomi just like he did with Kakashi.

Naruto winced as he heard Sasuke scream in utter agony, while Hinata was forced to cover her ears.

"Isn't that heartwarming? Using Tsukuyomi on his own brother." Kisame smiled.

Jiraiya then made a move when he saw Sasuke go limp, Snake → Boar → Rat → Dragon → Boar → Dragon → Tiger → Both palms on ground: "Kuchiyose: Gamaguchi Shibari (Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind)!" An oesophagus is summoned around them. Sasuke was sucked into the oesophagus wall,prompting Itachi to let him go.

Hinata removed herself from Naruto's shoulder and looked around, "What is this...?"

Naruto felt the ground with his foot, "Flesh...?"

Kisame noticed his feet were being swallowed.

Jiraiya smirked, "You both have just been swallowed by the Mountain Toad. Welcome my friends to the belly of the beast. He has a very sensitive digestive track, be careful not to upset him. Not the most glorious way to die, is it? It must be humbling to know that you've been reduced to toad bait."

"What?!" Kisame growled.

 _'A stomach?! He actually summoned a stomach?!'_ Naruto didn't know whether to be impressed or disgusted.

Itachi decided now was the time to retreat, "Kisame, come!"

Kisame managed to get himself free and ran after Itachi.

"It's useless! There hasn't been a ninja born that could survive this powerful stomach!" Jiraiya said to the fleeing men.

Jiraiya made the flesh chase after them as they ran. When a wall of flesh was about to attack them, Kisame used Samehada to cut them before running off again.

They were almost to the border of town when the wall of flesh was about to close in on them.

"Its too fast, we won't make it! Its no use!" Kisame said.

Itachi closed his eyes before snapping them back open, "Amaterasu (Heavenly Illumination)!"

Jiraiya looked up as he heard an explosion in the direction the men were running from.

"An explosion?" Naruto said.

"Does that mean they've escaped?" Hinata questioned.

Jiraiya didn't answer them as he ran in the direction Itachi and Kisame were running to, leaving Naruto and Hinata to themselves.

Naruto gave a heavy sigh, "Hinata...take me to Sasuke."

"Yes."

Hinata guided him to where Sasuke was and lifted his hand up so he could touch him. Giving his sword over to her, he carefully peeled Sasuke out of the flesh wall and placed him down carefully.

"How is he?" Naruto asked.

Hinata activated her Byakugan, checking on Sasuke's condition, "The Genjutsu has left him in a catatonic state. I'm not sure there's anything we can do for him."

"I see..." Naruto sighed.

 _"To think he would do such a thing to his own brother..." Asura said sadly._

 _ **"I don't know much about the Uchiha, but that Itachi had me on edge." Gyūki commented.**_

 _ **"Yes, and that Kisame fellow is also a dangerous individual." Matatabi agreed.**_

 _ **"Damn, Uchiha's...!" Kurama growled.**_

Naruto let them talk while he was thinking about Itachi's words and actions.

 _'On the outside, he acts like any other S-rank criminal, but when I sensed his emotions...'_ It was almost like Itachi was acting and not really serious, but had to make it look like he was.

Something didn't feel right about that.

Jiraiya walked over to them before slamming his foot on the ground, making the flesh around them disappear. He then looked over at Sasuke and saw the state he was in.

 _'He's in rough shape. I'm not sure any medic in Konoha could fix this.'_ He thought grimly.

A kunai embedded itself in the wall between Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya. This caught them off guard, especially Naruto since he didn't sense anyone approaching.

 _'Who—?!'_ Naruto questioned.

Jiraiya turned around quickly seeing a familiar face, "Dainamikku Entorī (Dynamic Entry)!" That familiar face turned out to be none other than Maito Gai as he jump kicked Jiraiya right in the face.

Gai panicked once he realized who he just kicked.

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched in anger as a tissue was stuck inside his nose to stop the bleeding.

Gai gave him a nervous chuckle, "Well...uh...I guess I was a little over enthusiastic. You see, I was trying to hurry and I couldn't see very clearly..." he laughed, "Using my headband, all I could see was two sinister figures so..."

"Do you know what?" Jiraiya finally spoke, "If this is your way of saying your sorry it stinks!"

"I'm sorry! But, it was just a simple misunderstanding!" Gai said, hoping that would calm him down.

"Simple-minded is more like it. But never mind that now, we need to get Sasuke to the Medical Team at once!" Jiraiya changed the subject.

"Right!"

"He's badly beaten up, his arm is broken and he's been knocked out by whatever jutsu that was Itachi used on him." Jiraiya explained the damage.

 _'Could it be the same jutsu he used on Itachi?'_ Gai wondered.

Naruto stood up, "Sasuke's physical wounds will heal, but his mental ones..."

"Yeah..." Jiraiya didn't even need to say it.

"Jiraiya, those two said they were part of an organization that was sent to capture me, you didn't think to explain that to me at some point?" Naruto was angry that Jiraiya knew about this and didn't say a word.

"And what good would that do? Would you have tried to fight them? You may have control over the Kyūbi's chakra, but that doesn't mean you can challenge any S-rank ninja!" Jiraiya lectured.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "I wasn't planning on confronting them, more like try to cause a distraction before running away with Hinata and Sasuke. I'm not that damn arrogant. And if by some chance I had to fight to them, even with the Kyūbi's chakra then I would have."

"That would have been stupidest thing you've ever done. Think about it, it took everything I had just to get them away from you!" Jiraiya yelled.

"And whose fault is it that they managed to get close to me in the first place? That's right _yours_!" Naruto growled.

Hinata didn't like where this was going so she decided to intervene, "N-Naruto-kun, please calm down!" She pleaded, grabbing his hand.

Just by her simple touch, he calmed down but refused to say another word to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya addressed Gai, "I'm sorry, Gai. I wanted to let Sasuke fight his own fight...I see now I should have intervened sooner."

"This is obviously the same sort of jutsu that Kakashi was hit with," Gai said as his eyes narrowed, "We don't know when he'll grow out of it."

 _'So Kakashi-sensei did fight Itachi, and from the sounds of it lost badly.'_ Naruto thought.

"What we need is a supreme medical specialist, a master of healing in medical arts, and soon." Gai frowned.

Naruto thought about any good medical ninja and thought of only one person...only she wasn't in the village anymore. Tsunade Senju was her name, and from what Yamato-sensei told him, she was a prodigy in the medical field. But now, no one knows where she is.

"You're right. And the woman you're talking about is the one we've come to find." Jiraiya revealed.

Naruto's eyes widened, "Then..."

"Who are you talking about?" Hinata asked.

"Tsunade Senju." Naruto told her.

She gasped, _'Naruto's distant relative...?'_

Gai's eyes widened, "Then...you really mean..."

Jiraiya grinned, "Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Another one of the Densetsu no Sannin, Konoha no Namekuji Tsunade-hime (Konoha's Slug Princess Tsunade), and master of elixirs. The Densetsu no Kamo (The Legendary Sitting Duck), and Mistress of the Healing Arts...Tsunade Senju!"

* * *

Said Tsunade Senju sneezed before proceeding to her location, which was to lose more money on gambling.

* * *

 **Next Time: Sannin Showdown.**


	14. Sannin Showdown

I haven't updated in awhile because I'm focusing more on our group project for class and since there's only two of us we need to do a lot of work. But it looks like we're okay now, so I can go back to update schedule like I'd planned. Another thing I forgot to mention is that when Kurama takes over Naruto's body he can see through Naruto because he's using his own eyes, also Naruto can see when he's in Kurama Mode, too. I also didn't know Tora was a girl until I saw the official wiki page and saw Tora's gender. Sorry, Tora.

* * *

Hiruzen discusses some things with Kagura and Haruto that may bring news he wasn't expecting. Jiraiya, Naruto, and Hinata talk about the Akatsuki and their possible motive. Meanwhile, Tsunade and her young apprentice run into someone they weren't expecting.

* * *

Hiruzen didn't know what to think about the two standing before him. Their pale white eyes reminded him so much of the Hyūga clan, only these two were not part of the clan. No—they were part of a clan that he had long thought belong in a legend...

The Ōtsutsuki clan.

There was a time when Tobirama-sensei once told him about the clan that was the origin of the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Hyūga, and Kaguya clan. The only reason Tobirama-sensei knew of such information is through Kagami Uchiha of all people. It was supposed to be a clan secret, but Kagami trusted Tobirama-sensei enough to give him such information.

Kagami...

He was also a candidate for Sandaime Hokage, but turned it down from what he understood and said that Hiruzen—him, would be a better Hokage. He had his doubts about that, especially what with Naruto had to go through during his childhood. Speaking of said boy, he wondered how the encounter between him and Tsunade will go? Not too bad he hoped.

But that wasn't important right now, right now he needed to worry about the two children standing before him. As he was just coming into his office, after having finished a meeting with the Council, these two appeared in his office out of nowhere. Just as he was about to call for the ANBU, he was stopped from doing so when these two claimed to be the ones that helped Team 7 in the Forest of Death. His old eyes bore into their young ones and sensed they meant him no harm, but he wanted to know what they were doing here and why show themselves now?

"Kagura and Haruto, is it?" He started the conversation first.

Kagura grinned, "That's right, old man!"

His eyebrow twitched, _'Old man...?'_

"Kagura, manners." Haruto chided.

"Eh~?" She complained.

Haruto stepped forward, "Sorry for intruding on you while you have your hands full Sarutobi Hiruzen, but we felt it was important to inform you about something that might be far more important in the near future."

Something important?

"What do you mean?"

"The Uzumaki clan..." Haruto replied, "Naruto is not the only Uzumaki out there."

Hiruzen's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Naruto isn't the last of his clan? If that's so then where are they?

"How do you know this to be true?" He questioned.

"My sister and I have been searching for a long time for the "Chosen Uzumaki." While finding the scattered Uzumaki's across the Elemental Nations, we determined that none of them were the chosen he were looking for. But soon enough, as we kept searching we then sensed the chosen's presence from far away and followed him all the way here to Konoha," Haruto explained, "I'm sure you already know who I am referring to, yes?"

Hiruzen knew exactly who they were talking about...

Naruto.

"The information we are about to give you must be kept yourself, however if you so wish to pass it along to others you trust then you may do." Haruto continued.

Whatever information he was about to learn was important enough for the two of them to come to him personally and confide their trust in them. He will not break that trust.

"I understand."

He would make sure to keep this information himself and only share it with others he trusted not to tell anyone else. But before any sort of information could be told to him, the door to his office room slammed open by another Chunin.

"Hokage-sama! Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki had infiltrated the village, and its been confirmed they were after Naruto Uzumaki!" The Chunin reported.

 _'So its begun...'_ He thought before his eyes widened, "What?"

"Its not only that, sir! Sasuke Uchiha heard that Itachi was here and went after him!" The man continued.

Hiruzen stood up from his chair, "Send someone to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha immediately!"

"Sir! Maito Gai has already gone after Sasuke Uchiha!" The Chunin said.

"Good," Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you for your report, you may take your leave."

"Sir!"

As the man left, Hiruzen looked back over at the two siblings who said nothing, "I'm sorry about that."

"Its fine. Do you still wish to know the information we posses?" Haruto asked.

"Yes."

While he was still worried about Sasuke, he was confident Gai will bring the boy back, and hopefully in good shape.

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya were facing Gai as he had the unconscious Sasuke on his back. Gai volunteered to take Sasuke back to Konoha, not that there was any other option. Naruto was a little worried about Sasuke's mental state after what went down with Itachi. Hopefully Tsunade Senju will be able to do something about his current state, and heal Lee, too.

"Gai, we'll leave Sasuke to you." Jiraiya said.

"Right." Gai then spotted the look on Naruto's face and grinned, "Don't despair, Naruto! Sasuke will be just fine!" He did his signature pose.

Naruto couldn't see the pose obviously, but Gai's enthusiasm managed to cheer him up a little bit, especially since he was so angry earlier.

He couldn't suppress the smile that appeared, "Thank you, Gai-sensei."

Hinata also gave the man a smile, "Please have a safe trip back to Konoha."

"I will! By the way, before I forget there's something I wanted to give you Naruto," Gai said as he reached into his pocket with his other hand, "Lee got stronger with this."

That interested Naruto a little bit, "Really? What is it?"

Gai revealed a green jumpsuit that made both Hinata and Jiraiya cringe at the sight, but not Naruto.

"Its a green jumpsuit! Its breathable, retains moisture, and offers complete freedom of movement, all in one sweet package!" Gai described the green fashion disaster in his hand.

Naruto chuckled nervously as made a mental image of what the green jumpsuit looked like and didn't have the heart to tell the man that he had no use for such a thing.

 _ **"Don't even think about trying to accept it!" Kurama yelled at him.**_

 _Asura chuckled uncomfortably._

 _ **"I'm starting to think Bee's rapping isn't so bad after all..." Gyūki said dryly.**_

 _ **"Such a thing as that is considered fashionable?" Matatabi said with a confused tone.**_

Gai wasn't done yet, "If you wear this while you train, you'll notice a difference immediately! They really grow on ya! Before long, you'll be wanting to wear them all the time like Lee!"

Hinata was as pale as a sheet at the very thought of seeing Naruto wear such a monstrosity. Shaking her head she grabbed Naruto's arm, "I'm sure Naruto-kun appreciates the offer Gai-sensei, but I'm afraid he has no interest!"

Jiraiya gave her a mental thumbs up, _'No way in hell I'll let the kid be seen wearing that ugly thing!'_

After more shenanigans, Gai waved them goodbye as he headed back to the village with Sasuke. With Gai gone they headed off towards their destination, but Naruto was in deep thought about what transpired earlier.

 _"Our orders from the organization are to secure Naruto Uzumaki, and we will have him."_

 _"I know that he's the one you're really after."_

 _'An organization that's after me...but why?'_ He stopped walking as there was an uncomfortable feeling inside of him.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata stopped, too.

Jiraiya also stopped.

"Itachi and his partner Kisame," Naruto started, "They said they were given orders by their organization to secure me, but just what organization are they a part of?"

Hinata was concerned and wanted to know, too and gave Jiraiya a pleading look, "Please, Jiraiya-sama! Why are Itachi and Kisame after Naruto-kun?! He deserves to know!"

Jiraiya unable to say 'no' to such a pleading and innocent eyes like Hinata sighed and decided that Naruto did have a right to know, since more than likely they will come after him again.

"The organization Itachi and Kisame are a part of is called the "Akatsuki." Also, they're not really after you..." he says to Naruto, "What they really want...is the Kyūbi that's sealed inside of you."

Naruto, out of pure reflex touched his stomach. So they weren't really after him, but Kurama? Why?

"Why...? Do they want to use him for something?" Naruto was in fear not just for himself, but for Kurama, too.

"As for what they would want with the Kyūbi...well, I honestly can't say because I don't quite know myself. And with him sealed inside of you, they, might be thinking of somehow wanting that power for themselves, bending it to their will." Jiraiya explained.

Hinata gave Naruto a worried look as he didn't say anything for a few minutes. His hair shadowing his eyes as he thought about what Jiraiya told him.

"I'll admit, its a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that those two will be after you now but tha—"

"Like hell they will." Naruto's hard voice cut him off.

Jiraiya felt his body stiffen as Naruto lifted his head, revealing a hardened expression that caught him off guard. It was a look that hardened Shinobi would have, not a Genin.

"I won't let them use him for whatever they have in mind. As I am right now, I'm no where near their level, but if they come after me again...I'll crush them!" He vowed.

Hinata's heart pounded as the fierce look on his face made her want to get stronger, too.

"In the meantime, let's focus on finding Tsunade Senju. We can worry about the Akatsuki some other time." Naruto's tone suddenly went from hard to normal with a flip of a switch.

Jiraiya had to smile at Naruto's sudden mood swings. He knew deep down the kid was still worried about the Akatsuki, but didn't want to think about it right now. Right now all that matters is the mission.

* * *

Ishida would consider himself to be a decent medic, but not a prodigy. That title was reserved for Tsunade Senju, who he had a lot of respect for. She was also the reason he decided to become a medic instead, not because he was trying to copy her, but because her amazing medical skills inspired him to be what he truly wanted.

The only reason he became a Shinobi in the first place was because his parents forced him into it. Always telling him that being a Shinobi held more ground than a 'mere medic.' Not wanting to disappoint them at the time, he became a Shinobi, but hated every minute of it. It wasn't until he got the chance to witness Tsunade Senju perform amazing capabilities with her medical knowledge that allowed him to break free from his parents shackles and become a Medic Ninja instead.

Of course, his parents had disowned him and needed a new place to live, but thankfully Sandaime-sama helped him with that by helping him get a new place. He hadn't spoken to them since they left the village not wanting to stay in the same place as their embarrassment of a son. He didn't know where they were and quite honestly, didn't really care. The years had gone and before he knew it, he was already a full grown adult, and still a medic. He hadn't even thought about his parents, the fools probably had another child in hopes to be more obedient than the embarrassment.

Either that or they ended up dead somewhere.

But enough about that, it wasn't important right now. Right now, he was going over Kakashi Hatake's still form and determined that he was indeed in a Genjutsu coma. It rarely happens, but when it does the effects are not pleasant. There might even be some side effects that effect the mental state of those who are put into Genjutsu coma's. Unfortunately, this was beyond him, and the reason he says this is because the one who put him in the Genjutsu in the first place was Itachi Uchiha—aka the "Clan Killer."

No one had seen Itachi since that fateful day where he just decided to slaughter his entire clan, save for his little brother. Now all of a sudden he comes back, and not only puts Kakashi in this sorry state, but is after Naruto. Luckily, the other Jounin believe that the boy was no longer within the village and should be safe.

Hopefully.

He rubbed his temples, trying to prevent a headache from coming on, "What could possibly happen now, I wonder..."

 **BAM!**

"Ishida-sensei!" Gai busted his door open with a yell.

The man's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, _'Of all people...'_

"What is it, Gai?" He faced the man with annoyed scowl, only for it to be wiped off his face as he saw the unconscious Sasuke Uchiha on his back.

"What happened?!" He took the boy from the man and placed him on the empty bed in the room he was in.

Gai gave him a serious look, "Itachi Uchiha got to him before I could...I was too late."

"Itachi?!"

"Yes, he went after Naruto, but luckily Jiraiya-sama was there. Unfortunately, Itachi used the same Genjutsu on Sasuke just like he did with Kakashi." Gai reported.

Ishida frowned, "Another Genjutsu coma case...unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it."

Gai grinned, "Don't worry, for Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya-sama are on a mission to find Tsunade-sama and bring her back to Konoha so she can heal Lee, Sasuke, and Kakashi!"

Ishida couldn't help but feel a little excited at the news, "Tsunade-sama...they're going to bring her back to Konoha?"

"That's right!"

Ishida gave a relieved sigh, "That is good news."

"Oh, by the way," Gai was rummaging in his pocket before bringing out what appeared to be a letter, "A mail ninja gave this to me while I was outside the hospital."

Ishida blinked before taking it, "A letter?" Who could it be from?

"Were you not expecting it?" Gai questioned.

"Not at all." Ishida saw who the sender was and thought for a second he was under a Genjutsu.

 _To: Ishida_

 _From: Mother and Father_

Well...this is a surprise.

He hadn't heard from them in years and now all of a sudden they send him a letter out of the blue? Is this a trick?

"Huh, it's from my parents." He said dismissively.

"That's wonderful news!" Gai grinned, giving a thumbs up.

Ishida gave him a dry look, _'Only you would think that, Gai.'_ He really wasn't expecting much when he opened the letter, but as he began to read through it that opinion changed.

 _Ishida,_

 _Its been so long. We know this letter is not enough to make up for how we treated you, but we wanted to let you know. Writing this letter to you made us both very nervous for we're very sure you probably won't even read it, but if you decide to then please allow us to make some sort of amends._

 _When you said that you wanted to become a Medical Ninja, we thought the idea was absurd for everyone in our family had become Shinobi's and we wanted that family tradition to continue. We were overjoyed when you became a Shinobi, and thought you tossed that ridiculous idea of being a Medical Ninja out of your head...but we were wrong. You suddenly decided to quit, and when asked why you brought up being a Medical Ninja again. Hearing this angered us greatly, but more so your father, who had high expectations for you. Both of us were so angry at you that we decided to disown you because you couldn't follow our tradition. We tossed you aside as though you were leftovers that were no longer needed._

 _Three weeks later, me and your father left Konoha because we were unable to bear the shame of the fact that our son decided to disgrace us by becoming a Medial Ninja. We settled down in Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron) where your father decided to become a blacksmith, and I decided to teach at a school there. We though that if we did this, you would see reason and seek us out to once again deny trying to become a Medical Ninja...but you didn't. If anything it had the opposite effect. You didn't send us a letter nor did you didn't try to seek us out. It was then that we realized you were serious and that you had disowned us as well._

 _We were still waiting to hear from you, but we were once again saddened that you decided not to do so. For years we kept waiting, only to finally come to the conclusion that you wouldn't want anything to do with us again. Simply saying, "sorry" will not be enough for tossing you away and then expecting you to come crawling back to us and be a 'good little boy.'_

 _Its time I got to the real reason we decided to write and send you this letter is because we are coming to visit Konoha because your father has not been feeling very well. I'm afraid that it might be serious. He said in his own words, "As soon as we get there...I want to see him...I want to see my son..." though you might not believe that, I assure you he said this from his own mouth. Ishida...I know we don't deserve it, but if you could find it in your heart to somehow forgive us, we promise not to waste your forgiveness._

 _With love,_

 _Mother and Father._

He didn't know that he was crumpling the letter in his hands until he finished reading the letter.

"Haaa..." That's not what he wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out. Folding up the letter he put it in his coat pocket and faced the window, his back towards Gai.

"Ishida-sensei...are you alright?" Gai asked carefully.

Ishida still had his back towards Gai as he took a deep breath, so as to keep his tears from showing. Forgiveness is not easy. Forgiving those who have wronged you for so long is not easy, and it is very hard to do. But sometimes you have to do it, not for them...but for yourself. So you can heal and not be consumed with hatred and bitterness like those who have had the same feelings towards you. To ask again if he was okay, that was easy to answer...

He finally faced Gai with fresh tears streaming down his face, "Yeah...I am..."

It has been a long time coming, but now...

Now...he can finally let the past go, and start moving forward...

Finally...

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya were walking down the road when Naruto decided to ask Jiraiya something.

"Tsunade was on the same Team as you and Orochimaru, correct?" Naruto asked.

"That's right."

"That also means she's around the same age as you two." Naruto hadn't really thought about it until now.

Jiraiya grinned, "She is, but don't let her appearance fool you! She's a very beautiful woman!"

Naruto fought the urge to sigh, while Hinata gave a nervous chuckle.

"I wonder what she's like?" Hinata wondered.

"I'm curious to know what she's like, too. Since she was on the same team as Jiraiya and Orochimaru that means she had to put up with both of them." Naruto concluded.

"That's true." Hinata agreed.

Jiraiya felt as though a ton of brick landed on him, "Hey, you two..."

"Jiraiya-sama, who was your Sensei when you three were still a team?" Hinata questioned.

"That would be Sarutobi Hiruzen," Jiraiya answered, "We were known as Team Hiruzen, but I guess you could say we were the original Team 7."

"Like Naruto-kun and his team!" Hinata gasped.

"Yep, you got it! I wouldn't be surprised if Team 7 became the new Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Sannin)!" Jiraiya said in a joking tone, but deep down he was actually very serious.

Naruto thought about the current state of his team and honestly had his doubts, what with Sasuke's arrogant nature and Sakura's fangirlism, but it seems that after the Chunin Exams she had mellowed out. He was skeptical, but who knows...anything is possible.

"Now as for her personality, I'd say that she's a little unpleasant. Besides that, she's a diehard gambler and her face is known far and wide for it." Jiraiya listed off.

"From the way you said her title back at that outpost place we were at, it sounds like to me she's no good at it since you called her the Legendary Sitting Duck." Naruto pointed out.

Jiraiya barked with laughter, "Picked that up, did ya? Trust me when I say when she's legendary for her title, she is really legendary for it. But as a Legendary Sitting Duck as she may be, I doubt we'll find her right away."

"I had no idea that she was famous for her bad gambling." Hinata never would have imagined her to be the gambling type either.

"Why do you think you won't be able to find her right away?" Naruto asked.

"She hates growing old so much she's probably used some special Jutsu to change her appearance. She's 50 years old, but no doubt she looks like she did when she was 20..." he described.

"Eh?" Hinata said.

Naruto had a different reaction though, _'Using a jutsu that makes you look young. Bet Jiji would want to know that one.'_

"And not just that, recently I heard that she transforms into her teens or 30s or 40s, whatever the situation calls for to escape moneylenders." He continued.

"If Shikamaru were here he would describe her as a 'troublesome woman." Naruto joked.

Hinata giggled because that's exactly what Shikamaru would say.

* * *

Shikamaru sneezed somewhere in Konoha.

* * *

"Tsunade has always loved to gamble more than anything, but she has terrible luck and no skill. She was always being played for the Sitting Duck and the name stuck. Then she was always borrowing money and skipping out on her debts, too..." Jiraiya crossed his arms hand shook his in in reminisce, "Ah, it brings back memories."

So one Sannin is a S-rank criminal, the other is a perverted hermit, while the last is gambler with no gambling skills to speak of. The Legendary Sannin, indeed...

"So, do you have a plan for finding her?" Naruto questioned.

"Not exactly, we might have a little work ahead of us, but I'm sure you and I will come us with something." Jiraiya said.

"Oh, joy." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Don't be discouraged, Naruto-kun. I'm sure we'll be able to find her." Hinata said optimistically.

"If you say so, Hinata."

Jiraiya gave the boy a look, "So you believe her words over mine, huh?"

"Its Hinata." Naruto said as thought hat explained everything.

The white haired man's eyebrow twitched, _'I shouldn't even be surprised.'_ These two were very close after all, "Anyway, if we wanna find Tsunade we first need to gather information."

"Gather information?" Hinata questioned as they came to a stop at a town.

"Starting here should be good." Jiraiya grinned.

They made their way towards the town and Naruto could hear all sorts of happy voices. Was there a special event going on?

"Its a festival!" Hinata said happily.

Naruto smiled, "A festival, that explains it."

"This is down time! Rest up here and have some fun before we set out again. It'll be just the two of you." Jiraiya said to them.

Hinata blushed as she thought about, _'Me and Naruto-kun all alone! On a date!'_

"Sounds great, you ready to have some fun, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Absolutely!" Hinata said eagerly.

Naruto took something out of his pocket, revealing to be a wallet that was full of money, "There are a lot of things here you can try."

"Mm!" Hinata nodded.

"Whoa! That's a fat wallet!" Jiraiya grinned.

"That's because I've been saving it from my missions." Naruto said, "Let's go, Hinata."

"Yes!"

"Stop right there, Naruto!" Jiraiya stopped them from leaving.

"What is it?" Naruto frowned.

"I'm going to hold onto your wallet for you." Just as Jiraiya was about to reach for it, Hinata slapped his hand away harshly, taking the man by surprise.

Naruto heard the loud slapping sound and turned his attention to her, "Hinata?"

Hinata meanwhile stared at Jiraiya, "Jiraiya-sama...I'm sure someone like you has his own money to spend it on whatever he wishes. There's no need to take Naruto's money."

Jiraiya stared down at the girl, _'Is it my imagination...or is this girl leaking KI at me?'_ He shook his head at the thought, "Well, you see the thing is..." the big man found himself face to face with Hinata as her Byakugan was active as she gave the man a scary look that made even him shiver.

"Naruto-kun wants to spend his money on our date...it belongs to him and only him..." her glare intensified, scaring the full grown man, "This is the only chance we have to go out on a date without anyone bothering us, so... _ **please don't interfere, Jiraiya-sama...!"**_

If he wasn't scared before he was now.

 _'How in the hell can the most docile and sweetest Genin in Konoha turn out to be the most terrifying?!'_ He thought as he could have sworn he saw his life flash before his very eyes.

"R-Right...you two go on and enjoy tour date..." He said with a nervous smile.

Hinata beamed and released him before grabbing Naruto's hand, "This way, Naruto-kun!"

"Sure..." Naruto let him self be dragged away from Jiraiya by Hinata, _'I could have sworn I sensed some KI leaking from her earlier...guess I imagined it.'_

Jiraiya watched them leave, feeling as though Hinata Hyūga may not be a defenseless little bunny as people might believe her to be.

 _'Naruto, you've chosen a good one!'_ Jiraiya nodded in approval.

The two Genin were enjoying themselves as Hinata tired out the booths with Naruto paying for it, like he said he would. There was a fish scooping booth and Hinata insisted that Naruto try it with her. He agreed to do it with her and found it surprisingly fun. The vender was astounded when the boy managed to actually catch a fish. For the rest of the day the two of them kept going to different venders before finally getting something to eat.

"This was fun, wasn't it?" Naruto asked.

"I don't think I've ever had this much fun! Today was amazing!" She smiled.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." He said.

Hinata finished eating before a thought came to her, "Do you think we should go and find Jiraiya-sama?"

"Might as well, we are still on a mission." Naruto said as he finished eating.

Having finished off their food they went to go search for Jiraiya. Ultimately, Naruto found the man's chakra signature, as well as some giggling that made his eyebrow twitch. Walking inside to where they heard the giggling, Hinata gave the man an unimpressed look.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Jiraiya-sama." Hinata said dryly as she eyed the women he was with.

"Oh, hey...you guys finished with your date already?" He said nervously.

"You know...its times like this that I'm really glad I can't see." Naruto commented.

"Adulterer." Hinata said.

"Huh?"

"Womanizer." Hinata continued

"Now hold on—"

"Lecher." Hinata kept going.

"H-Hinata-san...?"

"Philanderer, deceiver, playboy, libertine, wanton—" Hinata would have kept going but Naruto stopped her.

"Hinata, I think he gets it." Naruto said.

At this point, the two women who were with Jiraiya had moved away from the man as Hinata and Naruto confronted him.

"Let me guess, you were planning on using my money to play around with women all day, weren't you?" Naruto guessed.

"Well...not exactly..." Jiraiya said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Jiraiya-sama." Hinata said sweetly.

"Yes...?" Jiraiya's eye's were now focused on the Hyūga girl.

Hinata had a dark aura around her as she still had on a sweet smile, "While I understand you are Naruto-kun's teacher for this mission...I will not allow such activities to continue, and should Naruto-kun be forced to get involved in such activities of yours..." she trailed off.

"Wait, wait, wait! There's no need to try and threaten me! I was gathering information!" Jiraiya waved his hands in front of him in order to calm her down.

Naruto raised a brow, "Information? About Tsunade?"

"That's right, see working women are the best people to get information from because their clients spill their guts to them all the time, especially when intoxicated." He explained.

That...made sense in a way. Working girls are good at keeping information their clients give them a secret because of client privileges. But if you were to pay them a good sum of money, then they would be willing to give you information.

He couldn't even argue with that kind of logic.

"Hinata, I know you don't like it, but he has a point." Naruto said.

Hinata turned down the scary and sighed, "If Naruto-kun says so, then I guess its okay."

 _'Good lord, just get married already.'_ Jiraiya thought with an eye twitch.

"Anyway, Hinata would you like to keep having some fun?" Naruto asked.

She shook her head, "The sun is starting to set, we should find a place to rest."

"I'll take care of that," Jiraiya said, standing up, "I didn't get much information anyway, may tomorrow."

Tomorrow is another day.

* * *

Naruto was the first one to wake up. As he left his shared room with Jiraya, a white cat with brown spots, brown tail, and yellow eyes stopped in front of his door. He couldn't see the cat obviously, but he heard it meow.

"Meow!"

With a smile he bent down and scratched underneath its chin, earning a purr.

"Good morning."

"Meow~"

"Hey, leave him alone, Shu!" A lady walking down the stairs stopped to scold the cat.

"No, its okay. He's not bothering me at all." Naruto assured her.

The woman smiled, "Well, alright then." She went down the stairs as he kept petting the cat. Another door opened, revealing Hinata emerging from her single room.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." Hinata greeted.

"Morning, how did you sleep?"

"I slept well," she then saw the cat, "Whose cat is this?"

"Don't know, but his name is Shu."

Hinata rubbed the cat's head, "Hello, Shu."

"Meow~"

"Is Jiraiya-sama awake yet?"

A loud snore was her answer.

"Judging by that noise I'm gonna say, no." Naruto said.

Shu crept towards the sleeping man and proceeded to scratch his face, thus successfully waking him up.

"Yeow!" Jiraiya yelled with a startled yell as he rubbed his face, "What in the—"

"Meow!"

Looking down, he spotted a cat was responsible for scratching his face. He then looked back up towards the door and spotted Naruto and Hinata laughing at him.

"Oh, I see...so you two are behind this." Jiraiya said with an accusing tone.

Naruto gave him an innocent look, "Why, whatever do you mean?"

Hinata just kept giggling.

Shu went back over towards the two, rubbing up against Naruto's legs happily.

"Sending a cat to wake me up now, are you?"

"Once again, I have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto said innocently.

Hinata rubbed Shu's head, "Good boy."

"Meow~"

Jiraiya slumped forward, _'These kids are going to be the death of me.'_

After doing their morning routine, Naruto and Hinata decided to go outside and just simply relax with their little companion Shu, while Jiraiya went to go find more information about Tsunade.

Naruto and Hinata walked around town for a little while, still being followed by the cute cat, Shu. Shu decided to hitch a ride on Naruto's head, so the cat wouldn't get lost. Hinata found it to be adorable.

"He seems to be quite attached to you." Hinata smiled.

"Reminds me of Tora." He said.

"Tora, as in Shijimi-sama's cat?" Hinata's team had to capture to cat, too. They had a hard time trying to catch it because Akamaru kept growling at Tora, and Tora didn't take too kindly to Akamaru, either. The only reason they finally managed to catch Tora was because of her actually, Tora sensed she was harmless and just went up to her. Now that she thought about it, Kurenai-sensei did tell them they had the second best time in capturing Tora. Guess Naruto's team had the best record.

"How did you capture Tora?" Hinata asked.

Naruto huffed at the memory, "Tora just came up to me and rubbed up against my leg. Wasn't even scared of me, just scared of her owner."

"Shijimi-sama does hug that cat too much." Hinata remembered feeling sorry for the cat when the woman nearly hugged the cat to death.

"That she does."

* * *

Somewhere in Otogakure, Orochimaru was in his throne room as he waited for Kabuto to give him the news on Kimimaro's condition. During the Invasion, Kimimaro ran into those two mysterious individuals that he did while in the Forest of Death. He fought them and couldn't land a single blow on them. To make things worse, his condition got worse when the failed invasion was over.

Kimimaro was supposed to be his new vessel, but in his condition that won't happen. He tried going after Itachi Uchiha first, but he had underestimated the boy, so the next best thing would be to go after the little brother—Sasuke Uchiha. Due to the boy's hatred of Itachi and lust for revenge, he was the perfect candidate. He licked his lips in anticipation at the thought of Naruto Uzumaki, the vessel for the Kyūbi. Despite his disability, his kekkei genkai was something he wanted so badly, but he sensed the boy had something else he was hiding. What it was, he wanted it...

"You appear to be in a better mood." Kabuto commented as he walked towards Orochimaru.

"Kabuto, how is Kimimaro's condition?" Orochimaru got straight to the point.

Kabuto gave his report, "Not good I'm afraid. At this rate, Kimimaro won't last for every long."

Orochimaru figured.

"Tell me, have you found her location?"

"Yes...she seems to be at a place called Tanzaku Town." Kabuto informed.

Orochimaru smirked, "Tanzaku Town...I see."

"But she is a member of the Legendary Sannin much like yourself. It won't be that simple." Kabuto reminded.

Orochimaru merely laughed, "That may be true, however you forget that I too am one of the Legendary Sannin."

Should it come to a fight, Kabuto made a mental note to get the hell out of dodge.

* * *

The sun was going down, and Naruto, Hinata, and their furry companion were on their way back to their Inn. As they were close to the building, Jiraiya appeared with a shit eating grin on his face.

"Good news?" Hinata asked.

"That's right! Tsunade was indeed in Tanzaku Town just as I figured she'd be. One of the men at the bar I just got back from told me that she paid him a visit to try and earn some extra money to pay off her debt, only..." Jiraiya trailed off.

"She lost." Naruto guessed.

"Bingo. She's still in Tanzaku Town, so we need to hurry before she goes on the move again." He said.

Both Genin nodded.

Unknown to them they weren't the only ones searching for Tsunade.

* * *

Ironically in Tanzaku Town, Tsunade was at a pachinko place and got all lucky 7's. While that was good news for Shizune, it only spelled bad news for Tsunade.

 _'I got 3-7's? I never get this lucky...I've got a bad feeling about this.'_

Tsunade got up suddenly, confusing Shizune as she followed after her mistress.

"Tsunade-sama, is there something wrong?" Shizune asked as they were walking outside.

Tsunade stopped and looked around, "This town..."

"Huh?"

"Something's not right here," Tsunade frowned, "Hurry up, we're leaving."

"But this is a tourist resort, we should stay around for a little while longer and see the castle." Shizune complained.

"Then we're going to hurry up and see it so we can leave." Tsunade said in an uncaring manner as she walked away.

"But...Lady Tsunade." Shizune walked after her.

The two women did indeed find the castle, with Tsunade wanting to get out of the place as quickly as possible, Shizune was loving it.

"Wow! Tanzaku Castle sure does have a commanding presence! It's worth being designated as the cultural heritage." Shizune smiled as she stared up at the large castle.

"Don't dally...we're going to hurry up and leave this town." Tsunade told her as she walked away again.

Shizune ran after her, "Tsunade-sama, please look at it more carefully...it doesn't cost anything just to look."

Both women stopped walking as Shizune stared at her mistress.

"Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade stared up at the castle, _'What is this chill?'_ just as she said that, the castle began to crumble. Tsunade just looked on with a calm expression. As the smoke cleared, it revealed Orochimaru, Kabuto and Kimimaro, standing upon a brown snake.

Both women gasped.

"That's..." Shizune began to say, but couldn't finish as she was still staring in disbelief at who was in front of her.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "Orochimaru..."

Orochimaru laughed as he looked down at her, "I've finally found you...Tsunade."

 _'Damn, so that's what that chill I felt earlier was.'_ Orochimaru did always have a way in making someone squirm with just his mere presence.

Orochimaru dispelled the snake and jumped down along with Kabuto and Kimimaro as the five of them had a face off. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Shizune was in position to attack if either men made a move.

Ultimately, it was Tsunade who broke the tension, "Long time no see...Orochimaru."

"Indeed. I've been looking for you." Orochimaru said.

"What do you want with me after such a long time? Surely it wasn't to catch up on old times." Tsunade questioned.

"I was hoping to ask you for a favor, actually..." He confessed.

Tsunade continued to stare at him as she saw his condition. He looks the same as she last remembered. Something that struck as odd to her.

"Tsunade-sama, we have a request that we're hoping you will comply with." Kabuto spoke this time.

"Find someone else. Its been a long time since I've last treated someone anyway." She declined.

"I'm afraid that won't do..." Kabuto pressed on, "For you see, our companion here is in a terrible state that I'm afraid will keep deteriorating."

Tsunade eyed the man, standing next to Kabuto. At first glance, the male appeared to be healthy, but years as a medic told her otherwise. She could see a little sweat forming down the side of his face, telling her that he was in pain, but trying to mask it.

"As much as it loathes me to say this, but my medical skills are not enough to help him any longer, which is why we have sought you out. You are a medical genius, therefore...only you can help him." Kabuto explained.

"I see..." she eyed Orochimaru, "So where did you pick this boy up? Gotta say, I didn't think you were interested in the same sex. I will admit though, he is quite the beautiful looking type."

Orochimaru chuckled, "You humor with your jokes."

Tsunade's frown was still in place, "Out with it. What have you gotten yourself into for you to come to me with such a request?"

"Nothing really, except trying to kill the Sandaime Hokage and failing at it miserably." Orochimaru admitted.

Tsunade snorted, "Did you truly believe you could kill that old man?"

"In my experience, anything that lives must soon decay over time," he gave her a smirk, "But I guess you don't really need me to tell you that, now do you?"

Shizune gasped as she knew he was stepping on a landmine and gave Tsunade a glance.

"After all...you did leave the two most dearest loved ones of yours to march off to their deaths." He grinned.

Tsunade's frown became a furious scowl. If looks could kill, Orochimaru would be dead right now.

 _'Let the two most dearest loved ones die?'_ Kabuto gave Orochimaru a side glance, _'I see what he's trying to do...he truly does think of the most despicable things. A truly dangerous game.'_

Shizune leveled Orochimaru with a glare as the man chuckled.

"Such a shame they had to die in such a terrible way..." He smirked.

Shizune's eyes grew cold as she lifted her sleeve, revealing needles, "Scum!" With a wrist-mounted device, she got ready to fire off some needles. As she stood before Tsunade, she didn't hesitate to set them off.

Both Kabuto and Kimimaro stood before Orochimaru, protecting him. Kabuto held one in his hand and saw something drip from the needle.

"Poisoned needles..." Kabuto said.

Seeing that didn't work, Shizune ran towards them, with Kabuto noticing how fast she was.

 _'Fast!'_

"Move!" She yelled as she yanked out a scapal.

"I won't let you!" Kabuto went on the attack while Kimimaro shielded Orochimaru.

"Shizune, calm down!" Tsunade's voice snapped the woman out of her bloodlust. The tip of her scalpel just edges from Kabuto's neck.

Kabuto was sweating a little, _'Her attendant...she's strong.'_ Slowly, the two of them removed their weapons from each other, before Shizune jumped back and stood before Tsunade.

Tsunade gave the snake Sannin a cold look before smiling, "Orochimaru, your personality's been like this for a long time. Even you know the type of girl I am, so stop fooling with me, okay?" She said with a sweet smile.

Orochimaru had the brains to know he was pushing it. If the sweat pouring down his face was any indication.

Tsunade opened her eyes before proceeding to smash the wall behind her with just a single punch.

Kabuto and Kimimaro stared at the display, both feeling slight fear.

Tsunade lifted her head, glaring at him, "Or maybe I should just kill you where you stand, you son of a bitch!"

Kabuto stared at her display of strength, _'She's so powerful...and truly terrifying. No doubt she's single.'_ He was smart enough not to say the last part out loud.

"Please remain calm, Tsunade-sama! We haven't come all this way to fight!" Kabuto assured her, "We're here to negotiate with you."

"Negotiate?" She frowned.

"Yes."

"Trying to make me laugh now, are you?!" She yelled, "I've told you once already, get the hell out of my sight!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that." Kabuto protested.

"Last chance." She warned. Her tone sounding low and dangerous.

"You are the only one who can cure Kimimaro's illness!" Kabuto said.

"I'm being nice by giving you a warning." She was starting to get really angry.

"We're not asking simply out of the goodness of our hearts. We are not asking you to help us for free. Let's make a deal." Kabuto kept on insisting.

Tsunade had officially lost all patience with them, "I'll count down to five. You better be smart and leave before I get to five."

"Please calm down, this could benefit both parties." Kabuto tried again.

"Five..."

Kabuto saw that she wasn't kidding.

"Four..."

Orochimaru knew it, too.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

As she finished, Shizune moved to attack.

"I'm offering to bring your dear brother and beloved back to life." Orochimaru offered, shocking everyone there.

"With the forbidden Jutsu that I have developed." He said.

The wind blew as he said those words. It was as if getting an offer from the devil himself.

* * *

Jiraiya, Naruto, and Hinata took to the rooftops as they finally arrived in Tanzaku Town. Jiraiya and Hinata noticed the destroyed castle and told Naruto who couldn't see it.

Jiraiya frowned, "Can't say for sure as to whether this was Tsunade's work or not."

"She's strong enough to bring a castle like this down...?" Hinata was amazed and terrified.

"Yep, you got it." Jiraiya confirmed.

Naruto's ears twitched as he turned his head to the right, "Screams...and running."

Jiraiya and Hinata looked in the direction and sure enough, people were running and screaming.

"Hey, you what's going on?" Jiraiya yelled down at a man.

"You need to run away, too! There's a monster back there!" The man yelled.

Naruto sweat dropped, "Monster..."

Hinata gave an awkward smile, "Does he mean, Tsunade-sama...?"

"Meow." Shu yawned. The cat liked him so much that it decided to tag along with him.

"What kind of monster? What do you mean?" Jiraiya questioned.

"A huge snake appeared and crushed the castle!"

Naruto frowned, "A huge snake..."

"It couldn't be." Hinata was hoping she was wrong.

"Let's go, you two!" Jiraiya ran where everyone was running from with Naruto and Hinata in toe. Looks like Orochimaru is here, too. Question is why?

As soon as they got to the location of the ruined castle however, there was no one there.

"Damn, we just missed them." Jiraiya cursed.

Hinata was scanning the area, "It doesn't look like a fight took place here."

"Why is Orochimaru here? What does he want?" Naruto had a bad feeling about this.

"Good question." Jiraiya was sure he didn't want to know the answer.

 **Location: Tanzaku Town, Nighttime**

Jiraiya sighed as they were walking around

"Let's go find a place to eat before finding a place to rest for the night," Jiraiya said, "But first thing in the morning, we get up early to search for Tsunade."

"Right." Hinata nodded.

Naruto blinked however as he walked inside a place sensing someone inside.

"Naruto-kun?"

Jiraiya was just as confused as Naruto made a beeline for a place that served drinks.

 _'Why did he go in here? More importantly, why does he look like he's searching for something?'_ Jiraiya wondered.

Naruto didn't quite understand it himself as he was lead to someone from within the place he walked into. His senses kept telling him to go forward, so he listened and did. Suddenly he stopped, reaching his hand out to touch something before making contact with someone's hair. He could sense the person flinch before lifting their head up quickly. He could feel the person staring at him, and there was someone else with her, too. This chakra signature he was getting from her...it was the same as Jiraiya's and Orochimaru's. Then this person must be.

"Tsunade Senju.." he said.

Tsunade stared wide eyed at the boy as if she had seen a ghost, while Shizune was frozen still in her spot next to her mistress.

 _'Who is this boy...?'_ Shizune thought.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata came and in and saw he had his hand placed on a blonde woman's head.

"Hinata..." he turned his head in her direction as he took his hand off of Tsunade's head.

Jiraiya also walked in and was flabbergasted when he saw Tsunade, _'He found her?! Just like that?!'_

"Jiraiya?!" Tsunade stood up from her table, "What the...why the hell are you here?! And who are these kids?!"

Jiraiya didn't answer her and instead sat down at the table and faced her, "Finally...do you know how long we've been searching for you?"

Hinata sat in the middle, while Naruto sat next to her. Shu jumped off his head and landed in his lap before curling up in a ball. There was a tense silence as Jiraiya and Tsunade stared at each other, meanwhile Shizune and Hinata looked uncomfortable. Naruto was calm, opting to simply rub Shu's back as the cat purred in content. Even as the food come, no one at the table talked as they preferred to eat their meal instead.

Tsunade downed some sake before finally talking, "Its like a reunion...old faces just showing up out of nowhere."

"Orochimaru..." Jiraiya said.

Shizune gasped as the pink pig finished eating and went over towards Naruto.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing, really. Just exchanged some greetings, that's all." She said.

Naruto sensed her emotions. Turmoil...Heartache...Pain...Longing.

 _'These are her emotions I'm feeling.'_ He said as he petted the pink pig.

"Well then...why have you been looking for me?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya became serious, "I'll cut right to the chase. Tsunade Senju, Konogakure has chosen you to become the Godaime Hokage."

Hinata and Shizune's mouths were a gap, Naruto had no reaction as he opted to just listen and see how this goes.

Tsunade's reaction was just as big, as her eyes widened at the announcement.

 _'The Godaime Hokage...when you stop and think about it, she's probably more better for the role any anyone else right now. I have a feeling Jiraya was asked, but declined and suggested her.'_ Naruto thought.

"Old man Sarutobi chose you as his successor." Jiraiya told her.

 _'The Sandaime chose her himself?!'_ Shizune thought.

"Orochimaru told me how he tried to kill the old man, but failed miserably. Its rare for Orochimaru to admit defeat, let alone tell it to others." Tsunade said casually.

 _'So the snake told her himself.'_ Naruto thought.

Hinata frowned at the mention of Orochimaru.

"By the way, Jiraiya..." Tsunade suddenly eyed Hinata and Naruto, making the girl flinch in place, "What's up with you traveling with two kids, one of them being a Hyūga no less."

Naruto sensed Hinata's uncomfortableness and grabbed her hand, making her calm down a little. Shizune saw this and squealed inwardly.

 _'How adorable~!'_

"This is Hinata Hyūga, Hisashi's oldest daughter...this boy is Naruto Uzumaki, my apprentice." Jiraiya introduced.

Hinata, Shizune, and Tsunade gave wide eyed looks for different reasons.

 _'Naruto Uzumaki...?'_ Tsunade questioned.

 _'Does that mean he's Kushina-san's son?! Then is he also...'_ Shizune thought.

 _'Apprentice?! He wants Naruto-kun to be his apprentice?!'_ Hinata was happy for Naruto, but also worried because Jiraiya had some...less than desirable habits.

Naruto meanwhile just took a sip from his cup before finally talking, "If I may ask a question, Tsunade-sama?"

"Hey, how come she gets to be called by an honorable title?!" Jiraiya yelled comically.

Tsunade raised a brow at him but responded, "What is it, kid?"

"You were on the same team as Jiraiya and Orochimaru back when you still lived in Konoha, yes?" He inquired.

"Yeah..." Tsunade wasn't sure where he was going with this.

Naruto said nothing for a few minutes before bowing his head slightly, "You have my sincere condolences."

Jiraya gave a comical look as did Shizune, but Hinata nodded her head in agreement while Tsunade busted out laughing.

Hinata decided to add her two cents, "Tsunade-sama, as we travelled with Jiraiya-sama I've come to see his...habits."

"Oh...you don't say..." Tsunade eyed Jiraiya out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes," Hinata said, "While I acknowledge Jiraiya-sama for his skills...I don't want his bad habits rubbing off on Naruto-kun!"

"Wha?!" Jiraiya let out another comedic sound.

Shizune meanwhile tried not to laugh.

Tsunade gave Jiraiya a flat look, "Seriously, you still can't control that habit of yours?"

"Like you can talk, Tsunade! You wanna talk about habits then lets talk about your losing streak, you sitting duck!" Jiraiya shot back.

"Excuse me?!" Tsunade yelled.

Shizune sweat-dropped, _'He's not wrong, though...'_

"More importantly, what's with you making a blind kid your apprentice anyway?" Tsunade scoffed, "Are you that desperate?"

Jiraiya gave her a slight glare, Hinata's eyes became cold, while Naruto did a mental eye roll. He had gotten so used to people underestimating him due to his blindness that he'd just stopped caring.

Shizune gave her a horrified look, "Tsunade-sama!"

"And another thing, me as Hokage? What kind of sick joke is that? Sarutobi must be losing his mind if he thinks I'd ever consider taking on the position! Maybe Orochimaru poisoned his mind! Its a fools job!" Tsunade ranted.

Naruto closed his eyes in order to calm down before he spoke once again.

"Then that makes your grandfather and granduncle fools then, doesn't it?"

It was dead silent at the table as Naruto said those words. Jiraiya wasn't expecting him to say that, Hinata was wide eyed, and Shizune was so shocked that she couldn't produce any words.

Tsunade, who was drunk when the conversation started now sobered up as Naruto's words registered in her ears, as she glared at the blonde child.

"What did you just say?" She said in a deadly tone.

Naruto raised a brow, "I'm pretty sure I didn't stutter. Or has your age somehow effected your hearing?"

This time, both Jiraya and Shizune gaped in shock, _'Is he crazy?!'_

Tsunade slammed her sake cup on the table, "You've got a lot of nerve kid..."

Naruto was still calm, "You said it yourself. The job of a Hokage is but a foolish one, meaning that Hashirama and Tobirama Senju were fools to take the position that led to their deaths. They were foolish because they decided to take on the position and try to protect the village as well as those who live there, including you. In other words..." he turned to her with a leveled look, "They were fools and died as fools. Is that not what you meant?"

Hinata sensed what Naruto was trying to do and kept quiet, watching Tsunade carefully to see what she would do.

Shizune and Jiraiya were mentally freaking out, also watching to see how the woman would respond. She did not disappoint.

Slamming her hands down on the table she stood over the boy, "What the hell would some stupid blind brat like you know, huh?! How could someone like you know what pain is?! A stupid kid like you going about life without a care in the world wouldn't know the first thing about what I'm going through!"

Jiraiya had to glare at her for insulting Naruto about his blindness and Hinata looked ready to strike the woman right there, but Shizune felt herself disappointed by her mistress.

The air around the table suddenly became heavy and laced with hate as Naruto lifted his head and spoke, **"Would you like to say that again...Senju?"**

Shu hissed at Kurama, while Tonton cowered in fear.

Jiraiya stiffened in place as he heard the inhuman voice, _'Is that...?'_

Hinata felt this presence and knew it well, _'The Kyūbi...'_

Shizune felt fear grip her heart, _'What is this...?'_

Tsunade sensed something was off with the boy and wisely kept quiet.

Naruto opened his eyes, revealing not pale blue eyes, but red irises with black slits for pupils. This confirmed that Kurama had taken over, with his red piercing eyes staring at Tsunade with hate. He wasn't planning on getting involved, but when the Senju woman started insulting Naruto he decided to take over forcibly and confront the woman himself.

 _Asura sighed as he knew this would happen, "This will not end well..."_

 _ **Gyūki gave him a flat look, "Like that wasn't already obvious."**_

 _ **Matatabi sighed softly, "He won't admit it, but he has a soft spot for the boy."**_

Kurama was ignoring them as he kept his gaze on Tsunade, relishing in the woman's slight fear of him. Now, he could go on a long rant and tell the woman off like he planned, but decided to take a picture from Naruto's book when talking to fools, but decided to add his own flare to it.

 **"You are a coward."** Kurama stated bluntly.

Tsunade blinked, but said nothing.

 **"For someone who hails from the same blood as Hashirama Senju, you are nothing more but a disappointment. Indeed you have gone through pain as do other humans, but so has Naruto. You have lost loved ones, Naruto has lost his parents by my hands when I was in a rampage."** Kurama said.

Jiraiya was astounded to say the least. The Kyūbi was actually calm when speaking to Tsunade.

 _'I never would have imagined the Kyūbi to speak calmly.'_ Jiraiya thought, as he made no move to intervene...not yet anyway.

 **"There is a difference between you and Naruto. You mock his blindness, then allow me to share with you that his blindness was caused by a foolish human who caused his blindness on purpose because they were blinded by hatred."** Kurama sneered.

Shizune covered her mouth with both hands, "How awful..."

 **"Naruto does not allow his lack of sight to make him weak and disturb his everyday life. He has accomplished more than you have, you Senju-brat,"** Kurama continued, **"He has gone up against Zabuza Momochi—one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and survived, who also now resides within Konoha. Went up against a brat from Iwagakure who tried to kill him and won without getting a single scratch on him, fought against Sunagakure's Jinchūriki and defeated the brat."**

Shizune was impressed, "He did all that...by himself?"

 **"Naruto is no longer alone. He fought against that Gaara-brat with help, but in the end defeated the boy and understands his pain because of how they are seen by their own kind,"** Kurama kept his gaze on Tsunade, **"He was looked upon with scorn for most of his childhood, and not once did he run away. He kept his head held high, because he made bonds with those who reached out to him, yet you Senju, deny any attempt to create new bonds and lash out like a child. That is the difference between you two, and that is why you are a coward. Naruto understands pain better than anyone, if you think he doesn't understand the pain you are going through then you must truly be a fool."** With those words, Kurama went back into Naruto's mind and Naruto was back in control. The blonde stood up from his seat as he grabbed his cane.

"Like my friend said, I know pain...better than anyone. I won't go as far as to call you a coward like my friend did, but I will say that you shouldn't hold onto the pain in your heart," Naruto said to her, "Since you don't seem to keen on becoming the Godaime Hokage, how about we have a little bet?"

Shizune and Jiraiya blinked, "Huh...?"

Hinata was also confused.

Tsunade just looked at him, "A bet...?"

Naruto gave her one of his famous mischievous smiles, "I'm going to give you a riddle that you have to solve within the time limit, which is five days. I bet that you won't be able to solve it within the five days I've given you. If you can't solve it, then you will have to come back with us to Konoha to become the Godaime Hokage. However, if you do solve it, then we will leave you alone. Do we have a deal?"

Hinata looked over at Tsunade, _'Jiraiya-sama told us that Tsunade-sama has horrible luck when it comes to gambling, and this is no different. This is a gamble between the two of them.'_

Jiraiya and Shizune looked over at the women who sighed and sat down.

"Fine...its a bet." She said in a hollow tone.

Naruto's smile stayed on his face, "Then...here's the riddle. I am something that loves, believes, cherishes, and fights to protect. What am I?"

Shizune had question marks floating around her head, Jiraiya had to hide the grin on his face as he knew the answer to the riddle. Hinata was thinking about it, and Tsunade looked confused and annoyed.

"What the hell kind of riddle is that?!" She yelled.

Naruto didn't relent and simply smiled, "Its your riddle. Good luck." He left the table and headed for the exit with Shu the cat and Hinata following right after, but not before Hinata gave the woman a cold glare as she departed the eating establishment.

Jiraiya sighed as he put his cup down, "Looks like I underestimated my student's mischievousness."

"Mischievous? Is that what that was just now?" Shizune questioned.

Jiraiya chuckled, "Oh, no. He was serious about the riddle, but you could see a hint of mischievousness in his eyes...he believes Tsunade won't be able to win this bet, even though its and easy riddle."

Shizune was about to comment until Tsunade slammed her hand on the table, "Damn brat...so you think I can't solve it, do you...? WE'LL JUST SEE ABOUT THAT!"

* * *

Naruto chuckled as he walked down the street with Hinata, and Shu, who was on his head again.

Hinata guessed why he was chuckling and sighed in amusement, "You really are mischievous, Naruto-kun."

"Why, whatever do you mean, Hinata-chan?" Naruto said, sounding smug.

She sighed, "I mean that riddle you gave Tsunade-sama."

"I didn't give her a hard one," he defended, "I gave her an easy riddle, and besides you and Jiraiya figured it out instantly."

Hinata had nothing to say to that.

"Do you think she'll be able to solve the deadline you gave her?" She asked.

Naruto hummed in thought, "That depends on her. I think that maybe she'll think about it before finally coming up with an answer."

"I see, but I was really surprised earlier when the Kyūbi suddenly took over and started telling off Tsunade-sama."

"Kurama was just being overprotective." Naruto said with a smile.

Hinata smiled, "I'm just glad the two of you get along so well."

"Me, too." Naruto smiled as he heard Kurama give out a soft snort as he was listening in on their conversation.

"Oh." Hinata stopped suddenly, getting Naruto's attention.

"What's wrong?" He asked, stopping right next to her.

"A gambling place..." Hinata stared at the building with a sign that was lit up.

Naruto had a thought before humming with interest as he suddenly had a thought. Tsunade had bad luck when it came to gambling, in fact...her ability to gamble period is pretty much nonexistent. So maybe...

"I kinda wanna try it..." he said suddenly.

"Try what?"

He smirked, "Gambling. I'll send in a Kage Bunshin and have it gamble while you go in there and observe. If they cheat you'll be able to tell with your Byakugan."

Hinata sweat-dropped nervously, _'Naruto-kun wants to gamble?!'_ Judging by that smirk on his face she already got her answer as she knew he wouldn't change his mind.

Hopefully he won't become like Tsunade.

She really hoped he wouldn't.

* * *

Jiraiya openly gaped as he stared at the two suitcases that were filled with money. The Toad Sage had found the two Genin and saw they were carrying two suitcases, but he had no idea what they were until they found an Inn to stay in and they opened said suitcases. His jaw dropped as he saw the stacks of money that had a golden glow to them.

"Where...? How...?" He couldn't even process words.

Naruto who was petting Shu, who was napping on his lap responded, "I wanted to try my hand out in the gambling department and discovered...I'm not that bad at it."

Hinata then added her own two cents, "Naruto-kun asked me to go inside the gambling establishment with his Kage Bunshin to observe those within the place to see if they were cheating. Some were, but Naruto-kun still managed to beat everyone at the table. They then asked us to leave because Naruto was winning too much."

"Kind of insulting," Naruto pouted, "I was having a lot of fun, too."

Hinata smiled with a shake of her head before eyeing Jiraiya, "What do you think you're doing, Jiraiya-sama?" She asked nicely as the man flinched. His hand that was reaching for one of the suitcases, hovering in mid air.

"Er, well..." Jiraiya gave the girl a nervous grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You weren't perhaps trying to take the money Naruto won, were you?" The sweet tone of her voice did not match her eyes at all.

Jiraiya waved his hands in front of him, "Of course not! I'd never take my apprentices money!"

"I should hope not. But if you did try to steal it..." Hinata activated her Byakugan, "Then I must show Jiraya-sama how those of the Hyūga clan deal with thieves."

How in the hell is it possible that this sweet girl could be the most terrifying Genin of her generation?! And with that smile of her's no less!

Naruto chuckled at Jiraiya's fear of Hinata while he was still petting Shu, "Maybe I'll go to another gambling place tomorrow. I might end up winning again, right?" He said to Shu.

"Meow~"

While in another room that was a little further away from Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya. Tsunade and her apprentice were in their own room, with Tsunade scowling as she thought of a certain Naruto Uzumaki and his damn riddle. Just what the hell kind of riddle was that anyway?

Shizune gave her master a worried look as the blonde woman scowled, probably thinking about the riddle Naruto gave her. If she were the old Tsunade she'd solve the riddle just like that, but the sad fact was...this was not the old confident Tsunade Senju. Due to the pain of loss, she had become a mere shell of her former self. Always drinking and losing at gambling, which was nothing new, but its gotten worse over the years. Then there was the drinking. Now that has gotten worse, much worse than the gambling. Looking at her now, she could see some of the fire her master once had return a little, probably because of the riddle Naruto has given her to solve. A frown appeared on her facial features as she remembered Orochimaru's offer.

* * *

 _"I can bring your beloved and little brother back to life." He smirked._

 _Tsunade's eyes widened as did Shizune's as he said this._

 _"I have a special jutsu that's capable of bringing them back from the dead," Orochimaru continued, "Cure Kimimaro, and I will bring them back."_

 _Shizune gave the man a hateful glare as he tried to prey on her mistresses state of mind for his own ambition. In her heart and mind, she knew that bringing back the dead fully alive was not possible. And yet..._

 _As she gave her mistress a side glance, she saw the blonde woman actually consider the offer._

 _"I will give you time to think about my offer. Don't keep me waiting, Tsunade."_

* * *

The disgusting man left after saying those parting words. It made Shizune cringe as she remembered his tone, almost as though he were sure that her lady would accept his offer without a second thought.

Unfortunately, given her state of mind...

There's a possibility she might take him up on his offer.

With a worried heart, she laid down on her futon and tried to sleep, hoping that her mistress wouldn't fall for Orochimaru's lie.

 _'Maybe that boy can help with her broken heart.'_

* * *

The next day, Naruto woke up and heard some interesting noises coming from the room. First there was Jiraiya's creepy laugh, then he heard the man let out a painful sound before finally a thumping noise ended the noises all together.

Yawning from his futon, he sensed both Hinata and Shu were awake and decided to greet them.

"Morning, Hinata-chan, Shu." He greeted.

There was some rustling before Hinata responded back to him, "Good morning, Naruto-kun."

At the sound of her cheerful tone he raised one of his brows in slight suspicion. Hinata only does that when she was a little angry or felt some sense of accomplishment. He didn't detect any anger from her, only pride—another thing he probably should have noticed is Jiraiya's sudden silence.

"Hinata-chan, where's Jiraiya?" Naruto asked as he tried to keep his tone curious, instead of cautious.

"Jiraiya-sama was already up before us, but managed to hurt himself in a clumsy way and now he's unconscious." Hinata explained (lied).

He could tell she was lying because her chakra shifted a little in a way that told him that she was being truthful. He distinctly remembers hearing a painful grunt coming from the man before he fell to the ground completely limp. Instead of calling her out on her lie, he shook his head and stood up.

"I'm gonna go wash up, then we can head out to town and have some fun, how does that sound?" Naruto said with a smile.

"I would love to!"

Meanwhile Jiraiya still lay on the floor groaning painfully.

Well, whatever.

The two preteens left the Inn to explore and see what else the place had to offer. They didn't go back to the place where Naruto earned his winnings because he was banned, not that he really cared because he didn't.

"Do you think she's solved the riddle yet?" Hinata asked out of curiosity.

Naruto only thought about it for a second before replying, "Nope. If anything, she might be stewing right now due to her anger."

Hinata could see that.

"Ah, there you two are!"

Both teens stopped walking as they heard Shizune's voice coming from behind them. Naruto could sense the woman's chakra signature and knew immediately it was Shizune who called out to them.

"Yes, can we help you?" Naruto asked politely.

Shizune looked nervous as she stood there, but Hinata and Naruto waited patiently for her to speak. The woman wouldn't have stopped to talk to them if it wasn't important.

"If you two aren't busy right now...I'd like to talk to you about Tsunade-sama." She said.

So it was about Tsunade. Judging by her nervousness, the subject was something that she knew she shouldn't be sharing with them, but wanted to anyway.

"We're not busy, Shizune-san. Is there something about Tsunade you'd like to tell us about?" Naruto asked kindly.

"Yes...I want to tell you about my lady...and the pain that still resides in her heart." Shizune expressed.

Both teens nodded.

 **With Tsunade and Jiraiya**

"That damn brat!" Tsunade exclaimed, slamming a sake bottle down on the table.

Jiraiya sighed inwardly as he set his sake bottle down gently, "You can say that as much as you like, but it won't change the fact that you'll lose this bet if you can't solve the riddle."

"Shut up, Jiraiya! That little brat has some nerve!" She chugged down another bottle, her cheeks slightly pink.

The white haired man couldn't help but give her a look of pity. Once a woman with so much promise and a strong heart, has now been reduced to a bitter alcoholic, lashing out at anything and anyone.

"You know...when the kid found out you were a relative of his, he was looking forward to seeing just what kind of person you are." Jiraiya confessed, taking a sip from his bottle.

Tsunade didn't say anything and simply looked at him.

"Remember that by marriage the Uzumaki and Senju are related by blood, that makes you the kid's cousin or aunt, depending on how he wants to call you." Jiraiya said as she stared at his bottle.

Tsunade still didn't say a word.

"What the Kyūbi told you about Naruto's hardships is true," Jiraiya continued, "Minato and Kushina both died on the day of his birth, leaving him as an orphan. On top of that, the treatment of the villagers only added to his pain, and then...his blindness being caused by that sow back at the orphanage where he was staying when she was still breathing." His tone became hard as he remembered the story of Naruto's blindness the Sandaime told him.

That got a response from Tsunade, "What the hell did that woman do to cause his blindness in the first place?"

Jiraiya finished from his bottle before responding, "The head matron of the orphanage doused some chemical in his eyes when he was just a kid."

Tsunade gave him a "Tell me you're joking" look, but unfortunately, Jiraiya was serious.

"How in the hell could Sarutobi allow that?!" She yelled angrily.

"He's an old man now, Tsunade. And trust me when I tell you that he didn't let the woman off, in fact he had her executed when he found out from one of the workers at the orphanage who rushed him to the hospital where Ishida took care of him." Jiraiya explained calmly, but it was not too long ago that he felt the very same anger as Tsunade did.

"What else has the kid gone through?" Tsunade asked.

"Aside from being mocked by the villagers for his blindness and among others things that I won't get into." He said.

Tsunade let out a bitter chuckle, "What a shit storm Konoha has become. I bet grandfather and granduncle are really proud of the kind of village its become."

"Can't argue with you on that one," he agreed, "The reason I'm telling you this is because I want you to know that you're not the only one who's lost people they care about. Naruto lost both his parents the day he was born, I've lost my student and Kushina who I've come to see as my niece, Sarutobi-sensei lost his wife...and you lost Dan and Nawaki."

Tsunade said nothing as she stared down at her drink. The pain of losing Dan and Nawaki was still there, a wound deep within her heart that just won't heal. As much as she wanted to lash out at Jiraiya, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Because she knew deep down the man was right, and that's what pissed her off the most. How in the hell is it possible that the man she had known since childhood could grow up to be someone with philosophical view of the world. In that moment she realized that perhaps she didn't know Jiraiya as well as she thought. All she had were childhood memories of him being a goofball with no talent to speak of, only for him to grow up into a powerful shinobi and even turned down the position of Hokage twice.

Eyeing him out of the corner of her eye, she wondered how in the hell could she had been so blind not to see he had changed so much from when he was younger and in his youth?

Jiraiya gulped the last of his drink before standing up from his seat, "I've said what I've had to say...what you do from here is up to you now, Hime." Placing the money on the table, he had his back to her, "One more thing, no matter what Orochimaru went to see you for, don't do it. Dan and Nawaki would never forgive you if you did something stupid." With those parting words, he left her there at the bar to think about his words.

She let out a huff, "Damn..."

Back With Naruto, Hinata, and Shizune

Shizune brought them to an eatery place where they could talk without worrying about being found by either Tsunade or Jiraiya. Naruto and Hinata had no problem with it, and besides they were starting to get hungry anyway. Shu was sleeping on Naruto's lap, while Tonton was by Shizune's side.

"What about Tsunade-sama did you want to talk to us about, Shizune-san?" Hinata asked.

Shizune waited to explain so she could get her nerves under control. Once she feels she's calmed down enough, she began to speak.

"Please...don't hate Tsunade-sama." She pleaded.

Naruto blinked, having not expected her to start off with a request. He didn't hate Tsunade, just curious to now why she's the way she is.

"I don't hate her, Shizune-san. She's in pain and I understand that, but why is it that she's in so much pain?" Naruto asked.

Shizune breathed a sigh of relief when he said he didn't hate her and decided to tell the story of Tsunade Senju.

"As you've probably already know, Tsunade-sama is a gifted medical ninja and was widely respected by everyone in Konoha," Shizune started, "She's saved countless lives during the war...but she's lost just as much."

Hinata bowed her head, while Naruto closed his eyes. The Second Shinobi World War was a topic they had discussed in the Academy as part of History class. Like the first war, it involved shinobi from major shinobi villages and countries. The conflict was between Konohagakure, lead by the Sandaime Hokage, Sunagakure, which was probably led by the Sandaime Kazekage, Amegakure, lead by Hanzō of the Salamander, Iwagakure, lead by the Sandaime Tsuchikage. From what Naruto remembers, the majority of the fighting took place in the minor villages like Amegakure, which according to Iruka-sensei were devastated because of it. There were countless lives lost because of the war, and yet humans just can't seem to help themselves and cause another over something trivial.

"The first person she lost was her younger brother Nawaki Senju. He was killed in an explosive trap that...mutilated him beyond recognition." Shizune said in a small tone.

Hinata looked down sadly.

Naruto was silent.

"While that had devastated her, she was able to push forward when she met Dan Katō, my uncle. They got along well with each other to the point where they became lovers and he told her his dream of becoming Hokage, like her brother Nawaki told her before he passed." She said.

 _'So they wanted to become Hokage, huh?'_ Naruto thought that was interesting.

"My uncle was a good shinobi who fought with her during The Second Shinobi World War. During the battle he was fatally wounded and Tsunade-sama was the one that tried to save his life...but unfortunately...she couldn't." Her voice trembled as she said this.

Hinata felt sorry for Shizune because she had lost her uncle and Tsunade had lost her lover.

Naruto was still quiet.

"It was his death that finally broke her," Shizune managed to force herself to continue, "She took me on as her apprentice before leaving the village, vowing never to return. In her mind, she believes the village is at fault for causing her so much grief, and still thinks that even now."

"Given how things went in her life its not hard to see why she would think that." Naruto finally spoke, "I'll admit, if I were in her shoes I'd probably do the same thing, especially with what I had to go through going up." He unconsciously touched his eyes.

Hinata gripped her pants while Shizune gave him a sad look.

"But to see her lower herself like this is even more disappointing," He said, snapping the two females out of their own personal thoughts, "If she keeps running away like this, it'll only make her pain fester even more than it already has. Me and her are relatives, and while I may not know her as well as you do, but she can't go on like this, that's why I gave her that riddle. If it can spark something in her, then she'll be able to heal."

Hinata smiled at him. This was so like Naruto to try and help others in his own way.

Shizune didn't expect someone so young to talk like an adult, but given what happened to him in his childhood it was to be expected. He might be the one to stop Tsunade-sama if she actually agrees to Orochimaru's proposal. With her resolve firmly in place she decided to tell them.

"There's something else I need to tell you, something I might need your help with." Shizune said to them.

"What is it?" Hinata asked.

The black haired woman's facial expression displayed utter hatred as she spoke again, "Orochimaru showed up with two men, one was wearing glasses while the other had green eyes and long white hair. That man gave Tsunade-sama a proposal, saying that if she were to heal the man Kimimaro then he'll bring my brother and uncle back to life."

"What?!" Hinata gasped.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, _'I'm guessing one of the guys is Kabuto, while the other is that guy that stopped from going after Gaara and his siblings during the invasion. Kimimaro Kaguya.'_

"You think that given Tsunade's vulnerable state of mind she'll actually consider going through with his proposal." Naruto said it as a statement instead of a question.

"I do...I want to believe she wouldn't even consider such a thing, but..." it was understandable to be a little doubtful, but there was still some flicker of hope that the blonde haired woman wouldn't give in to the temptation.

"Keep an eye on her, and if it looks like she might do it, well..." he wanted to say do your best to stop her, but Tsunade was hailed as the strongest kunoichi of her generation for a reason.

"I will! There's no way I'll allow Tsunade-sama to fall so low as to make a deal with that snake!" She growled.

Hinata had a lot of respect for Shizune at that moment. She was such a strong woman.

Naruto hoped Tsunade wouldn't be that foolish to actually make a deal with Orochimaru of all people, but its just a case of wait and see for now.

After that conversation with Shizune, four days had passed and Tsunade had come no closer to solving the riddle, even though it was really to solve. This proves the woman was distracted about something else. This was enough for Shizune to start observing Tsunade very closely, meanwhile Jiraiya was checking his spy network while Naruto and Hinata were hitting the casino hotspots. Turns out that Naruto is the total opposite of Tsunade when it comes to gambling. The boy had luck on his side while Tsunade had bad luck, this made Jiraiya bust out laughing at the irony that a Senju was beaten at luck when it was said they always had good luck on their side, only for Naruto—an Uzumaki to have more luck than her. Tomorrow would be the fifth day, and Tsunade still hasn't come to Naruto about whether she's solved the riddle or not, unfortunately they couldn't wait any longer and would have to drag her back by force. With the "they" being Jiraiya, since he's the one who will have to carry her all the way back. The very thought made the man weep a little, but Naruto had a vicious smirk on his face, while Hinata smiled at the man's plight.

The next day came quickly.

Hinata found out from Jiraiya what room Shizune and Tsunade was headed her way there. As she approached, she saw Shizune passed out on the floor and ran right towards her without hesitation.

"Shizune-san, wake up! Shizune-san!" Hinata shook the woman's shoulder in order to wake her up.

The downed woman let out a groan as she slowly opened her eyes. Clearing the fog from her eyes, she was now looking up at Hinata who gave her a worried look. She then shot up out of the girl's arms, only to use the wall as a way to keep her from falling flat on her face.

"We have to go...we have to stop her..." Shizune said as she regained her balance.

"Who do you mean, Shizune-san?" Hinata questioned.

Shizune turned her head in Hinata's direction quickly, "Tsunade-sama! She went to meet Orochimaru!"

Hinata's eyes widened as she helped Shizune leave the hallway to find Naruto and Jiraiya. Both females could only hope Tsunade wouldn't bring her loved ones back to life at the cost of her humanity.

* * *

Tsunade wondered how in the hell did she even think to consider bringing her loved ones back to life by taking Orochimaru up on his offer at the cost of sacrificing another human being. Nawaki and Dan would be so disappointed in her, even that Naruto kid would never let her live it down. So when she knocked Shizune out to go meet up with Orochimaru after he sent one of his snake summons to tell her the location of where they were, she arrived and flat out refused to heal Kimimaro and take the snake up on his offer to bring her little brother and lover back to life. While true she would give anything to see them again, but not at the cost of sacrificing her humanity. As soon as she refused to heal Kimimaro a punched to the face was what Orochimaru got as she emphasized her point and had to dodge as the two brats with him both attacked her at the same time and nearly got her. She's been out of the game for a long time because of her grief because she would have flatten these two the second they attacked her. But then again, the brat with the glasses was something else with those chakra induced hands which he called "Chakura no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel)." It looked deadly that's for sure, but her Chakra Enhanced Fist was just as dangerous. Then there was that Kimimaro brat who just so happens to be the last member of his clan—the Kaguya clan, where they protrude their bones from their bodies and fight with them out and about.

And to make things worse, Orochimaru had recovered from her punch and was added to the mix. Great, just great.

Orochimaru chuckled, "It looks as though you are at a disadvantage, Tsunade."

Tsunade took off her green jacket and got ready to fight, "Don't get ahead of yourself, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru merely smirked, "Kimimaro."

With that call, the last member of the Kaguya clan charged at the woman, with the bone of his arm sticking out, ready to stab her, only for it to be blocked by a blade that belonged to none other than, Naruto Uzumaki.

Tsunade's eyes widened, "You-!"

Naruto didn't respond to her as he pushed Kimimaro away from her. The man did a back flip as he landed back next to Orochimaru's left side.

Tsunade noticed that Naruto had something around his eyes that looked like a black blindfold of some kind.

"How did you know...?"

"Shizune told us what you were planning to do," he answered, "After Hinata found her unconscious in the hallway, the two of them came to get us and here we are."

"We?"

Her question was answered as a toad landed in front of Naruto and Tsunade with Shizune and Hinata standing on it on either side of him. Shizune hopped off the frog first, with Hinata following right behind her.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune ran towards the woman, enveloping her in a hug that nearly sent her tumbling down.

Tsunade gave the raven haired woman an apologetic smile as she rubbed her head, "I'm sorry, Shizune."

"I'm so glad...so glad you didn't go along with it." Shizune lifted her head up to look at the woman.

Tsunade gave her a smirk, a smirk that reminded Shizune of the old days when the woman was confident and went into battle with that confidence.

"Like hell I would! Those two would never forgive me if I did!" She said, "Besides, I still have a bet to win against that brat!"

The smile on Shizune's face looked to be plastered on her face as she celebrated the return of her mistress.

 _'Welcome back, Tsunade-sama!'_ Shizune welcomed inwardly.

Jiraiya meanwhile glared at Orochimaru as the toad he was standing on dispelled, "Looks like Tsunade rejected you, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru chuckled, "If I recall she rejected you many times in the past, Jiraiya. How nice it is to see you again, and you've brought Naruto-kun with you as well."

Naruto had his hand on his blade as Hinata got in a fighting stance as she stood next him, glaring at the Snake Sannin with her Byakugan focused on the snake man.

"In case you forgot, Naruto rejected you, too and has no interest in joining your little club." Jiraiya frowned.

"What?" Shizune wondered why Orochimaru would be after Naruto.

"He wants to me to join him, and almost put a Curse Mark on me." Naruto explained.

Tsunade glared at the snake, "Like what you did to Anko."

 _'Anko? The women who was the proctor for the second part of the Chunin Exams? She has one, too?'_ Hinata thought.

"I was quite surprised when Anko survived and didn't follow after her teammates in the after life." The man smirked.

 _'Sick son of a bitch!'_ Tsunade and Jiraiya growled inwardly.

If there was a face of evil in the world, it would definitely be Orochimaru. This man had no morals, and no respect for human life, it was as if he wasn't human himself.

Which is probably true.

"Since Tsunade has no interest in going along with your little deal then you gift as well hit the road, while I'm still being nice and letting you leave here alive." Jiraiya threatened.

"True, but that doesn't mean I have any intention of leaving here without taking something back with me." Orochimaru's eyes were Naruto as he said those words.

Jiraiya wasted no time in charging at the man, sending a punch right at his face, only for Orochimaru to block it with is arm. The aftershock threatened to almost knock everyone over, but they stayed standing by some miracle.

"You just wasted your chance!" Jiraiya glared.

"We'll see about that." Orochimaru smirked.

As those two clashed, the rest decided to engage in combat with each other themselves. Hinata was still shocked to see Kabuto here, but since he was working with Orochimaru there was no need to ask about why he was here. She didn't know who the man next to him was though.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses as he smiled, "Its been awhile hasn't it, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto didn't find the sentiment all that amusing, "I'd prefer if we never meet again."

"Oh, come now, why so cold?" Kabuto said, still smiling.

Shizune got ready to fight, "I think I speak for everyone when I say that you've said enough." An outstretched arm blocked her from attacking the smiling man before them.

"Shizune, you and me will handle this brat while Naruto and Hinata handle the other one." Tsunade told her.

Shizune already had out her poison needles as she glared at Kabuto.

"Kabuto's sneaky, so watch yourself." Naruto warned. That earned him a pat on the head, something he wasn't expecting.

"Thanks for the concern kid, but I'm sneaky myself." She smirked.

Naruto felt a change in Tsunade compared to when he first met her. She was slowly starting to get her spark back, and he had to admit that it was a welcomed change.

 _'Guess the bet was unnecessary.'_ He thought.

"You two handle the other guy, and be careful," Tsunade warned, "This guy is the last living member of the Kaguya clan. He's able to manipulate his bone structure, its a kekkei genkai called Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse)."

"I know. We've met before, but never fought. Now's the right time I suppose." Naruto said as he unsheathed his blade. He didn't get to fight the guy last time, but things were different now.

Tsunade cracked her knuckles as she stood next to her apprentice, "Let's do this, Shizune!"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune had her needles out.

"You ready for this, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I'm ready!"

 **Naruto & Hinata vs. Kimimaro**

"It would appear our paths have crossed once again." Kimimaro commented.

"Looks that way." Naruto said.

Kimimaro actually removed one of his upper arm bones and created a short, bone-hilted bone sword. Hinata's eyes widened at the display, this proved that Tsunade was right when she said his kekkei genkai allows him to manipulate his bone structure. Actually seeing it is quite terrifying and unsettling.

"Tsubaki no Mai (Dance of the Camellia)."

That was the only warning Naruto got before he pushed Hinata out of the way to block the bone sword from Kimimaro. The man didn't stop though as he kept attacking chaotically and continuously.

Hinata's eyes widened as she tried to follow his movements with her Byakugan, but found out she was unable to.

 _'His movements are hard to follow because of how chaotic and unpredictable they are! I've never seen a Taijutsu like this before! Naruto-kun is able to keep up with his movements, but for how long?!'_ She thought.

Naruto was just as surprised with Kimimaro's chaotic moves. It really does feel as though this were a chaotic dance and he's just barely keeping up with it. He blocked another strike before pushing the man away from him. This guy's skills are Jounin rank. Holding back is not an option at this point, he'll have to attack and see if Hinata can find an opening, it'll be hard with this guy.

 _'No choice then.'_ Naruto took up a stance as his senses were focused on Kimimaro. If this guy was gonna go all out against them, then he would respond in kind.

Hinata saw Naruto's stance as a sign that he wasn't going to hold back and that she should be prepared. She wasn't as fast as this man, but she can try.

Kimimaro was intrigued by the sudden change in the boy's stance, "Interesting stance, but what do you plan to do?"

He got his answer when there was a silver flash and he had to bring his bone sword up quickly to prevent himself from having his gut sliced open. This sudden quick movement took him off guard slightly, having not expected this boy to suddenly be this quick.

"Gin Senkō (Silver Flash)."

Naruto had been working on many different techniques, and this one was the most hardest for him to get just right. He finally perfected it when he was training for the second part of the Chunin Exams, but he didn't have to use it at all until today.

Kimimaro meanwhile was thinking about something else, _'This technique feels the same as my Tsubaki no Mai (Dance of the Camellia).'_ He moved away quickly to avoid a Jūken strike from Hinata, but had to block again because Naruto was right on him. As he was pushed away again Hinata was about to try and hit him once more, but he had something else in mind. Several of his bonds pop out at once that made Hinata jump back.

"Karamatsu no Mai (Dance of the Larch)."

Hinata frowned, "His bones are all over his body now. They're acting as some sort of guard."

"You are correct," Kimimaro confirmed her observation, "They act as guards against close quarters combat. You will not win."

Naruto grinned, "Don't get arrogant."

 **Tsunade & Shizune vs. Kabuto**

Tsunade slammed a chakra encased fist into the ground, creating cracks in the ground as dust covered them.

Kabuto crossed his arms in front of his face in order to keep the dust from getting in his eyes.

Shizune used the dust as the perfect distraction, "Ninpō: Dokugiri (Ninja Art: Poison Fog)." Ejecting purple poison from her mouth, she created a fog that overcame the dust and nearly encased Kabuto had henot jumped away in time.

 _'That was close. I wasn't expecting this woman to be so advanced when it came to poisons, but considering who her master is, it really shouldn't be surprising.'_ His eyes widened as Tsunade came out of the mist and got him right in the back. He then felt a static shock that made his body seize up, _'What is this...?!'_ Falling to the ground in a crouch, he felt all of the nerves in his body not acting as he wanted.

Luckily Tsunade explained what was going on.

"Since you look confused allow me to tell you what I just did you brat. The jutsu I just used is called, "Ranshinshō (Nervous System Rupture)," what I did was create an electric field using my chakra. While I did this, the electricity poured into your nervous system, rearranging your body's signal." She explained.

Kabuto's body was able to move, but like she said the signals weren't acting right. He tried to move his left leg, only for his right arm to move instead, making him grit his teeth.

 _'Its like she said, my nerves are shot and aren't acting as I want them to!'_ He thought in frustration, but didn't think about it for very long as he was kicked in the back by Tsunade and sent hurling away, rolling on the ground a few times. With a grunt he managed to sit up, ' _Indeed this is a very effective jutsu that's useful against targets who rely on movement, but...'_ concentrating, he tried moving his body again, but this time it relied on him relearning the connection between his brain and limbs. Normally this would difficult for a normal person to do, but Kabuto wasn't ordinary as he was a prodigy when it comes to the medical field, just like Tsunade. He managed to stand up and reactivate his chakra scalpel with a slight smirk.

"That was a nice little trick, why don't I show you some of my own?" With that he disappeared and reappeared behind Shizune and aimed for her legs, rendering her mobile, "I've cut the muscle tissue and tendons on your ankles, you won't be moving fro awhile."

She turned her head to glare at him.

Kabuto disappeared again as Tsunade almost punched him from behind.

"Annoying brat," Tsunade clicked her tongue, "Hang back, Shizune. I've got this."

Shizune bowed her head, "Yes, ma'am."

Tsunade was going to knock that annoying smirk off of Kabuto's face.

 **Naruto & Hinata vs. Kimimaro**

After hearing Kimimaro's statement about his new bone guard, he decided to use that same wind jutsu he used against N to see if he could break that guard of his.

"Looks like its time to stop playing around," He said, "Fūton: Shinkūjin (Wind Style: Vacuum Blade)!" Like before, he exhaled wind infused chakra onto the blade, "Let's see how well that bone guard of yours holds up against my wind blade."

Kimimaro brought both arms together, "Yes...lets."

"Back me up, Hinata?"

"I will, my taijutsu might not be able to do much, but I still want to fight by your side." She said to him.

"Thank you."

Kimimaro rushed at them and Naruto responded in kind as Kimimaro's bones clashed with Naruto's wind blade. The sound of bone against blade could be heard as the two clashed, trying to dominate over the other. Hinata would occasionally come in and help like she promised she would.

"Gin Senkō (Silver Flash)!" Naruto's wind blade would have cut Kimimaro's chest had it not been protected by his bone shield. Instead, all it did was push Kimimaro back a little. When the man regained his footing, Hinata got him right in the face that sent him to the ground before he got right back up and jumped back.

Kimimaro looked down at himself and saw that there was no damage, but he felt his bones tingle at the sensation. Now that was a first.

"I understand now, while Orochimaru-sama sees you as an ideal vessel, aside from the Uchiha." He said.

Naruto pointed his blade at him, "Don't say something so disgusting. I've told you before, there's no way in hell I'd just let that snake do whatever he wants."

Hinata gave him a hard glare, "Orochimaru won't touch a hair on his head!"

Kurama laughed, "I really like this girl! She's perfect for you!"

"I know." Naruto responded back mentally.

Hinata was the one to initiate to attack first.

"Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Air Palm)!" Hinata released a high-speed air palm right at Kimimaro, sending him skidding back.

Naruto appeared right above him, making his eyes widen, "Kaze Senkō (Wind Flash)!" Swinging his sword down, he cut the right half of Kimimaro's face, getting one of his eyes as blood flowed from the socket.

"Gugh!" Kimimaro grabbed this injured eye and took a few steps back, his bone guard retreating back inside of him as he was in too much pain to concentrate to keep them out.

Hinata saw this as her chance, and took it, "Jūkenhō: Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!"

"Ni Shō (Two Palms)!"

"Yon Shō (Four Palms)!"

"Hachi Shō (Eight Palms)!"

"Jūroku Shō (Sixteen Palms)!"

"Sanjūni Shō (Thirty-Two Palms)!"

"Rokujūyon Shō (Sixty-Four Palms)!"

With the final palm strike the white haired man was sent flying backwards as he rolled around on the ground, but he refused to fall as he slowly stood up, panting as he did so.

"He's still standing?!" She gasped.

"Doesn't surprise me." Naruto said, standing next to her.

Kimimaro panted a little as his injured eye had stopped bleeding, but he couldn't open it.

"I...refuse to fall to you...for I am another chosen of Orochimaru-sama!" He declared.

Hinata's eyes widened, "Another...chosen..."

"He must mean that Orochimaru wants him to be his vessel, too." Naruto guessed.

"You may have injured me, however...!" He covered his mouth as started coughing. As he hunched over from the constant coughs, Hinata noticed blood coming out of his mouth as he was hunched over.

"He's spitting up blood..." Hinata said.

"Even with a body like that, he's still strong." Naruto commented before his senses alerted him to danger. Grabbing Hinata, he got them both out of the way as Kabuto almost got them. Landing at a safe distance, he felt Tsunade appear next to them.

"I told you Kabuto's a slippery one." Naruto teased slightly.

"Oh, shut up." Tsunade grumbled.

Hinata smiled at the woman.

"Where's Shizune-san?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade's face became serious as she watched Kabuto heal Kimimaro's eye, "Kabuto got her with his Chakra Scalpel, but she'll be okay." Case in point when she motioned that Shizune was right next to her the whole time they've been talking and gave them a smile.

"Looks like Kimimaro will have to sit this fight out." Naruto said.

Tsunade looked over at the two Sound shinobi, "Orochimaru said he was ill, but from the looks of it, its only gotten worse."

"There's nothing you can do?" Hinata asked.

"Whatever sort of illness Kimimaro has, its probably spread to the point where its too late for me to do anything, except prolong his suffering." Tsunade explained solemnly.

Shizune grit her teeth, "Me may be a henchmen of Orochimaru's, but..."

Kabuto placed Kimimaro on a rock to rest before turning to face them with one of his confident smiles, "Well, since Kimimaro seems to be out of the fight, it looks like it'll be just me against the three of you. Do try not to hurt me too badly."

Tsunade cracked her knuckles, "Arrogant brat."

"Yeah, but he's got the skills to back it up." Naruto reminded.

"Don't remind me." She said.

Hinata got ready to counter an attack Kabuto might throw at them.

Kabuto appears behind Tsunade suddenly, _'Chakura Kaibōtō: Zan (Chakra Dissection Blade: Three)!'_

Hinata countered his attack, "Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protecting Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!" Hinata shaped her chakra into thin sharp blades that prevented Kabuto from attacking Tsunade and making him back off at the same time.

Kabuto looked at his chakra induced hands and saw that one of his fingers got cut, but it was nothing serious.

Tsunade meanwhile gave Hinata an impressed look, _'I've never seen any other Hyūga use a technique like that. A personal creation?'_

Kabuto wasn't so impressed, _'What a troublesome Hyūga.'_

"Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu (Wood Style: Silent Strangle Jutsu)!"

As he was distracted for a short while, it was all Naruto needed to wrap him up in bindings, but of course Kabuto got out of them, using his Chakra Scalpel.

Tsunade and Shizune's eyes widened as Naruto displayed the Shodaime's kekkei genkai right before their eyes.

"Tsunade-sama, isn't that..." Shizune trailed off.

Tsunade thought her eyes were deceiving her, but they weren't. This boy has the very same kekkei genkai as her grandfather.

"Naruto, you..."

Naruto chuckled, "Sorry, guess I should have mentioned this at some point, but do you think you could wait to ask questions once we've dealt with him?"

Oh, she had questions alright, and a lot of them, but he's right. Now's not the time to be asking questions.

"I think I can do that." Tsunade smirked as she rushed towards the brat, aiming a fist to his face, only for Kabuto to almost touch her arm with his scalpel, but he was hit in his side by Hinata who had snuck up on him.

Dog → Horse → Bird: "Fūton: Toppa (Wind Release: Breakthrough)!" Naruto expels a gust of wind, hurling it at Kabuto that sent the man flying away fro a bit before he regained his footing.

Kabuto grit is teeth, 'Well this is starting to get annoying. And with Kimimaro out of the fight, that means I'll have to stop holding back.' He stood up from his crouch with a smirk, "Looks like the three of you will be more trouble than I originally thought. And since that's the case, I guess I should stop holding back now."

'What the hell is he about to do now?' Naruto knew Kabuto was more sneaky than Orochimaru and had to be on his guard.

"Kinjite: Shikon no Jutsu (Forbidden Technique: Dead Soul Jutsu)." He summoned two corpses in his image, making Hinata and Tsunade's eyes widen as the two clones headed for Naruto and Hinata.

Hinata prevented the clone from hitting her with its chakra scalpel, 'This jutsu...did he learn this from Orochimaru, or did he create it himself?'

Naruto jumped back and made sure the clone didn't touch him, _'Since he couldn't take on all of us, he decided to use this jutsu. Its effective, even if the name of it sounds despicable.'_

Tsunade was stuck with the real one and wasn't holding back either. As much as she didn't want to give the brat credit, she had to because the brat was good when it comes to medical ninjutsu.

"You know, for someone who is widely praised for her medical knowledge, its quite a disappointment to see you have a problem with seeing blood." Kabuto taunted.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched, but didn't rise to the bait and just kept trying to hit the annoying creep.

"I wonder what your loved ones would think if they saw you now, they'd probably be disappointed." He kept trying to get a reaction out of her.

"Shut up!" She yelled, aiming at his face, but that's what Kabuto wanted because he paralyzed her arm then got her leg and simply smirked down at her as she was rendered immobile.

"Look at you now, a shell of what was once the greatest medical ninja in history," he brought his chakra induced hand up, "Such a shame really."

Tsunade did something he didn't expect, she chuckled, "You know, if those two could see me right now they'd probably be disappointed. But you know what? I'm not so washed up just yet, and besides...the kid will remind me of what it is I now need to do. Oh, and by the way...you should be more aware of your surroundings."

Kabuto's eyes widened as she sensed a presence behind him and saw it was Naruto. He turned around quickly, but couldn't react fast enough.

"Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere)!" Naruto slammed the blue swirling ball right into his gut that sent him flying and doing a lot of damage to his middle.

Naruto sighed as he bent down before Tsunade, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just paralyzed but it'll wear off soon." She assured him.

The male blonde smiled, "Kabuto's wrong."

Tsunade looked confused.

"What he said about you being a shell of your former self," he clarified, "That might have been true, but look at you now. If your loved ones saw you now, they would be proud of you, not disappointed."

Tsunade smiled as she saw Naruto morph into her brother and then Dan. This boy...he really is special.

"Naruto."

"Yes?"

"When this mess is all over, we'll go back to Konoha."

This took him by surprise, but he smiled anyway, "Right!"

"By the way, what happened to those clones Kabuto created?" She questioned.

"Oh, I got rid of mine with my sword and Hinata...well there's a reason I really like her." He smiled.

"Really..." Tsunade kinda figured there was something going on between the two.

"Naruto-kun! Tsunade-sama!" Hinata and Shizune called out to the two as they ran towards them.

"Shizune, you can move now."

"Yes, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Naruto saved me."

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"I'm okay, how about you?"

"I don't have any injuries." Hinata assured him.

"Good."

A groan got their attention, "Such a heartwarming scene. I find it too much for my tastes." Kabuto got up and the three females noticed his stomach was steaming, and while there was a nasty bruise, they saw it looked healed.

"Its healed?" Shizune stared in astonishment.

"But...how?" Hinata wondered.

Kabuto smirked, but it was forced as he was still in pain, "Its a Medical ninjutsu that I created. In'yu Shōmetsu (Cellular Activation). It works by anticipating the spot where the enemy will strike, and pre-emptively applies medical treatment to it, reducing the damage to a minimum. By concentrating chakra to the area, I can begin the cell recreation process. In fact, its because of this technique that Orochimaru-sama keeps me around, it also helps that I use it on test subjects for a longer period than normal."

Naruto frowned, "That's nothing to brag about."

 **BOOM**

Jiraiya and Orochimaru landed near them. Now that they paid attention they saw the destruction to the area and saw these two haven't landed a hard blow on each other yet.

Orochimaru saw that Kabuto and Kimimaro's condition and chuckled, "Quite the look, Kabuto."

"Indeed, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto responded.

Jiraiya got sick of this, "Let's end this now!" He said, doing some hand signs.

Orochimaru did the same.

Tsunade recognized those signs, "Shizune!"

"Right!"

All three stopped and said in unison.

 **Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)!**

Three giant animals were summoned:

Gamabunta with Jiraiya standing on his head.

Manda with Orochimaru standing on his head.

Katsuyu with Tsunade on her head. Tsunade checked her limbs and found out she could move and stood up.

"Jiraya, you summoned me again?!" Gamabunta yelled.

"Its been awhile since you've summoned me, Tsunade." Katsuyu said happily.

"Orochimaru, I warned you to never summon me again." Manda sneered.

Hinata stared up in absolute awe, "Amazing..."

"It is, isn't it?" Shizune agreed, "The Three legendary Summons belonging to the Legendary Sannin—The Toad Boss Gamabunta, Katsuyu, and Manda."

This was one of the times Naruto wished he could see, but he'll just have to deal with it.

"Hm? Kabuto's not down here with us anymore." Naruto noticed.

Shizune and Hinata noticed his absence, "He must be up there with Orochimaru! You two stay down here while I support Tsunade-sama!" She went to join her mistress.

"Guess we'll just stay down here and let them fight," Naruto said, "This is now a fight between Sannin, this is not a fight we should try to get involved in."

Hinata stared up at the three ninja plus their apprentices, "You're right."

"Let's do this, Gamabunta!" Jiraiya said.

Gamabunta scoffed, "So long as I get to humiliate Manda I'm game."

"Alright!" Jiraiya said using hand signs, Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger: "Katon: Gamayu Endan (Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb)!" Jiraiya shoots fire from his mouth, while Gamabunta had shot a jet of oil from his mouth before Jiraiya spewed out his flames. The flames just barely missed Manda.

"Zesshi Nensan (Acid Slime)!" Katsuyu caught Manda off guard by getting him with the acid.

"Nice work Katsuyu!" Tsunade complimented.

Orochimaru opened his mouth suddenly, taking his sword out before wrapping it around Tsunade's neck, dragging her towards him.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune cried, about to help her, but found she had to defend herself from Kabuto, while Katsuyu was being strangled by Manda, as the snake wrapped himself around her.

Gamabunta cut Manda's tail off to get him to let go and it worked.

Tsunade meanwhile kicked Orochimaru in the face before he could try to stab her. After she did that, she laced her fist full of chakra before walking over to him slowly.

"As much as I'd like to say this was a nice little reunion, I can't say that!" She then punched him hard in the face sending flying right off Manda. Landing on the ground, she just stood there and glared at the snake.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto arrived next to him with Kimimaro in toe. The guy must've woken up at some point.

Orochimaru stood up, and as he lifted his head up, Tsunade and Jiraiya noticed his face started to peel.

"What...?" Tsunade stared in disbelief.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed in disgust, _'Using someone else's body in such a way. You really have fallen, just like Sensei said.'_

Orochimaru smiled as she looked at them, "It would appear this reunion will have to end. How I wish this could continue a little bit longer, I'm afraid its time for me to take my leave," he then looked over at Naruto, "I do hope we get to meet again, Naruto-kun."

Naruto felt another shiver down his spine at his words, but said nothing.

Orochimaru left along with Kabuto and Kimimaro with those haunting words that promised another meeting.

Naruto let out a sigh, "He's gone."

Hinata was grateful for that. Gamabunta and Katsuyu dispelled as Manda had dispelled earlier when his tail was cut off. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune walked over to the two.

"You two did pretty good against that Kimimaro guy." Jiraiya complimented.

"His kekkei genkai was something else that's for sure." Naruto said honestly.

"It makes those who are experts at close quarters combat have difficulty trying to fight him," Hinata admitted, "I admit...I'd rather not fight him again."

"Same here. I got lucky when I cut his face, doubt it'll happen again though." Naruto said.

Tsunade rubbed his head, "You really are a modest kid. Too bad Jiraiya couldn't be more like you."

"Hey!" Jiraiya squawked.

"I shudder to think just what kind of person you used to be at my age." Naruto made a face as he said this.

"Oh, I'll tell you about that. I've got a lot of stories to tell you actually." Tsunade grinned viciously.

"What the hell, Tsunade?!" Jiraiya yelled.

"I don't mind hearing about them, but in exchange I'll tell you about how Hinata scared him a few times." Naruto grinned right back.

Tsunade barked out a laugh, "She seriously scared him?! You've gotta tell me how she did it!"

Hinata blushed a little as Shizune smiled, patting her on the shoulder.

"No respect..." Jiraiya grumbled.

The four of them just laughed at him.

* * *

The next day, Tsunade had her things packed and ready to head back to Konoha with Jiraiya and the kids. Shizune couldn't stop smiling as her mistress was now back to her old self.

 _'Naruto-kun...truly, thank you.'_ Shizune thanked.

"Let's go Shizune!" Tsunade said with a grin.

"Yes!"

The two women headed outside, seeing Jiraiya and the kids were already outside waiting for them, along with the white cat that was on Naruto's head.

"Ready to go, now?" Jiraiya questioned.

"Almost." Tsunade went over to Naruto and placed something around his neck, "This is now yours, kid."

Shizune and Jiraiya's eyes widened, "That's..."

Naruto curiously touched the stone, "What is this?"

"Its the Shodaime's necklace," Tsunade said, "This necklace is made os a special crystal gem, for a long time now I believed it to be cursed because of the deaths of Nawaki and Dan, who both wore it before they died. But now...I'm entrusting it to you."

Naruto didn't know what to say, but if she had this much faith in him...then he would make sure not to lose or make sure it got stolen.

"I'll take care of it." He promised.

She smiled, "I know you will."

"Oh, and since we're giving things to each other," Naruto took something out of his pocket and gave to Tsunade. It was a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Tsunade looked at the paper and her eyes grew wide at what she saw, "WHAAAAT?!"

"What is it, Tsunade-sama?!" Shizune looked at the paper herself and couldn't believe it, "This...this...this is..."

Jiraiya raised a brow, "What are the two of you freaking out about?"

Shizune answered him, "This says here that some of Tsunade-sama's debt has been paid off!"

Jiraiya blinked before his eyes traveled to Naruto, "...So that's what you did to some of the money you won two days ago."

"The money he won?" Tsunade and Shizune both looked at Naruto for an explanation.

"I found out that I have a lot of luck when it comes to gambling, so I went to one place and they kicked me out because I was winning too much, so I went to another place and another place, with the very same thing happening." Naruto explained.

"After he won from the last place we went to, these shady looking men approached us," Hinata continued, "Naruto mentioned Tsunade-sama's name and they got really quiet before explaining they were debt collectors. Naruto-kun gave some of the money he won over to them to pay off some of money she owed them, they were so surprised they bowed and thanked us over and over again."

"They then gave me that piece of paper to show your current balance and thanked me again. I still have some money left though, so its fine." He said casually.

It got quiet for a minuted before Tsunade hugged Naruto out of nowhere, "You're a god-send!"

"Thank you so much, Naruto-kun!" Shizune cried happily.

Jiraiya sighed, "Kids too kind for his own good."

"That's part of his charm, Jiraiya-sama." Hinata smiled.

Tsunade had her arm around his shoulder as they walked off, "I've got some more debts I need paid off, there's this group at that one time I went to."

Naruto gave her a dry look before chuckling, "I don't mind paying it off, provided you lay off gambling for awhile."

"Deal."

"Just like that?!" Shizune and Jiraya exclaimed.

"Hey, the kid's paying my debt off willingly! If all I have to do is stop gambling for awhile then I can handle it!" Tsunade said to them.

Shizune and Jiraiya both gave her disbelieving looks.

"I give it a week." Jiraiya said.

"Three days." Shizune said.

Hinata giggled.

"You two...!"

 ** _"I say two days." Kurama said._**

 ** _"Well I say a day." Matatabi said._**

 ** _"24 hours." Gyūki said._**

 _Asura simply sighed._

Naruto chuckled a little before smiling at the prospect of finally heading back to Konoha so he can tend to his plants again, but he did want to check up on someone first though.

"By the way, you never did solve the riddle within the time limit." Naruto reminded her.

Tsunade grinned, "Guess not, but I know the answer though."

"Oh?" Naruto inquired in amusement.

Tsunade looked up at the clear blue sky, "Its the will...The Will of Fire."

* * *

 **Next Time: Return of the Senju**


End file.
